19th Christmas
Page 22
CHAPTER 4
ZAC JORDAN WAS a defense lawyer who worked pro bono for the Defense League, a group that represented the poor and hopeless.
During a brief break from her job with the DA, Yuki had worked for Zac Jordan and could say that he was one of the good guys and that his client was lucky to have him.
In this case, his client was facing major prison time for being in the wrong car at the wrong time.
Yuki sat down and asked, “How’s it going, Clay?”
He said, “Just wonderful.”
Clay Warren looked younger than his age. He was small and blond haired, with a button nose, but when he glanced up, his gray eyes were hard. After his quick appraisal of Yuki, he lowered his gaze to his hands, the cuffs linked to a metal loop in the middle of the table. He looked resigned.
“Clay,” she said, “as we discussed before, a police officer is dead. You know who shot him. I’m asking you again to help us by telling us who did that. Otherwise, I can’t help you, and you’ll be charged as an accomplice to murder and for possession of narcotics with intent, and tried as an adult. You’re looking at life in prison.”
“For driving the car,” he said.
“Do you understand me?” Yuki asked. “You’re an accomplice to the murder of a cop. If you help us get the shooter, the DA might help you out. The charges could be lowered significantly, Clay.”
“I don’t know anything. I was driving. I heard the siren. I pull over and get charged with all of this bullshit. It’s wrong. All wrong. I was speeding. Period.”
“And the drugs inside the car? Where’d you get a million dollars’ worth of fentanyl?”
Yuki knew that there was a tentative ID on the dealer. The cop who’d watched his partner die on the street had reviewed photos of likely suspects, big-time drug dealers, and thought the shooter might be Antoine Castro, but he wasn’t entirely sure.
Yuki said, “Why are you taking the weight for scum like Antoine Castro?”
The kid shook his head no.
Castro was on the FBI’s most-wanted list. By now, Yuki was willing to bet, he’d left the country and assumed a new identity.
Zac said, “Lying isn’t helping you, son. I know ADA Castellano. I’ll negotiate for you.”
“For God’s sake,” Warren shouted. “Leave me alone.”
Yuki imagined that if the killer dealer was Castro, he’d gotten word to the kid. Warned him.
You talk. You die.
Clay Warren wasn’t going to talk. Yuki stood up.
“I’m sorry, Zac.”
“You tried,” he said.
She went to the door and the guard opened it for her. She left Zac Jordan alone with his client, a scared kid who was going to die in prison, just a matter of when.
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Have You Read Them All?
1ST TO DIE
Four friends come together to form the Women’s Murder Club. Their job? To find a killer who is brutally slaughtering newly-wed couples on their wedding night.
2ND CHANCE
(with Andrew Gross)
The Women’s Murder Club tracks a mystifying serial killer, but things get dangerous when he turns his pursuers into prey.
3RD DEGREE
(with Andrew Gross)
A wave of violence sweeps the city, and whoever is behind it is intent on killing someone every three days. Now he has targeted one of the Women’s Murder Club …
4TH OF JULY
(with Maxine Paetro)
In a deadly shoot-out, Detective Lindsay Boxer makes a split-second decision that threatens everything she’s ever worked for.
THE 5TH HORSEMAN
(with Maxine Paetro)
Recovering patients are dying inexplicably in hospital. Nobody is claiming responsibility. Could these deaths be tragic coincidences, or something more sinister?
THE 6TH TARGET
(with Maxine Paetro)
Children from rich families are being abducted off the streets – but the kidnappers aren’t demanding a ransom. Can Lindsay Boxer find the children before it’s too late?
7TH HEAVEN
(with Maxine Paetro)
The hunt for a deranged murderer with a taste for fire and the disappearance of the governor’s son have pushed Lindsay to the limit. The trails have gone cold. But a raging fire is getting ever closer, and somebody will get burned.
8TH CONFESSION
(with Maxine Paetro)
Four celebrities are found killed and there are no clues: the perfect crime. Few people are as interested when a lowly preacher is murdered. But could he have been hiding a dark secret?
9TH JUDGEMENT
(with Maxine Paetro)
A psychopathic killer targets San Francisco’s most innocent and vulnerable, while a burglary gone horribly wrong leads to a high-profile murder.
10TH ANNIVERSARY
(with Maxine Paetro)
A badly injured teenage girl is left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found.
But is the victim keeping secrets?
11TH HOUR
(with Maxine Paetro)
Is one of Detective Lindsay Boxer’s colleagues a vicious killer? She won’t know until the
11th hour.
12TH OF NEVER
(with Maxine Paetro)
A convicted serial killer wakes from a two-year coma. He says he’s ready to tell where the bodies are buried, but what does he want in return?
UNLUCKY 13
(with Maxine Paetro)
Someone returns to San Francisco to pay a visit to some old friends. But a cheerful reunion is not on the cards.
14TH DEADLY SIN
(with Maxine Paetro)
A new terror is sweeping the streets of San Francisco, and the killers are dressed in police uniform. Lindsay treads a dangerous line as she investigates whether the criminals are brilliant imposters or police officers gone rogue.
15TH AFFAIR
(with Maxine Paetro)
Four bodies are found in a luxury hotel. Lindsay is sent in to investigate and hunt down an elusive and dangerous suspect. But when her husband Joe goes missing, she begins to fear that the suspect she is searching for could be him.
16TH SEDUCTION
(with Maxine Paetro)
At the trial of a bomber Lindsay and Joe worked together to capture, his defence raises damning questions about Lindsay and Joe’s investigation.
17TH SUSPECT
(with Maxine Paetro)
A series of shootings brings terror to the streets of San Francisco, and Lindsay must confront a killer determined to undermine everything she has worked for.
18TH ABDUCTION
(with Maxine Paetro)
As Lindsay investigates the disappearance of three teachers, Joe is drawn into the search for an international war criminal everyone thought was dead.
A WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB THRILLER
18TH ABDUCTION
James Patterson
& Maxine Paetro
Under pressure at work, Lindsay needs support at home. But her husband Joe is drawn into an encounter with a woman who’s seen a ghost – a notorious war criminal from her Eastern European home country, walking the streets of San Francisco.
When Joe’s informant disappears, the two investigations collide. It will take the combined skills of Lindsay, Joe and the entire Women’s Murder Club to protect their city, and themselves, from a monster.
A STAND-ALONE THRILLER
REVENGE
James Patterson
& Andrew Holmes
Former SAS soldier David Shelley has plans for a safer, more stable existence when he settles down to civilian life in London. But the shocking death of a young woman he used to protect puts those plans on hold, as the family call on their former bodyguard for help.
The police have ruled the death a suicide, but Emma’s father suspects otherwise – and is willing to go to extreme lengths to prove it. Shelley must uncover the truth, before the father’s need for retribution takes them into a war from which there is no escape.
THE SEQUEL TO SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER INVISIBLE
UNSOLVED
James Patterson
& David Ellis
FBI analyst Emmy Dockery’s unique ability to uncover the patterns that others miss has brought her an impressive string of arrests. But a new case – unfolding across the country – has left her looking for something which may not exist.
The victims all appear to have died by accident, and seemingly have nothing in common. But this many deaths can’t be a coincidence. Can they?
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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Copyright © James Patterson 2019
Excerpt from 20th Victim © James Patterson 2020
Bauble and tree texture: Alamy
Figure in snow: Arcangel
Cover design: Black Sheep
James Patterson has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This is a work of fiction. All characters and descriptions of events are the products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons is entirely coincidental
First published by Century in 2019
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ISBN 9781473563032