Please let me know soon if you’ll proceed. Tracy’s parents shouldn’t have to wait another day.
Yours,
FMC
Reed looked down in horror at the hair in his hands. Tracy Trajan had nearly jet-black hair, the same hue as the strands included in the letter. “I’ll be right back,” he called to Sarit and Tula. “I just need to make a phone call.”
He went to his office and shut the door, his hand shaking so hard he could barely dial the number. His boss did not seem pleased to be bothered on a Saturday. “What is it?” she asked.
“It’s Francis Coben. He sent me a letter at my house.” How he got the address, how he was able to mail the thing from Boston when he was supposed to be locked up on death row in Indiana, was a terrifying mystery at this point.
Helen Fielding didn’t have to have the urgency spelled out for her. “What does he want?”
“He wants to tell us what happened to Tracy Trajan.” She’d been abducted from her neighborhood in the suburbs of Chicago in the late 1990s, around the time that Coben was active. They’d questioned him multiple times about her disappearance, but he’d always insisted he didn’t know anything about her. None of the remains unearthed from Coben’s farmhouse had belonged to Tracy.
“Finally,” Helen replied. She, too, knew Coben and his hunger for the spotlight. “What’s the catch? Does he want a national TV interview or something?”
“No, it’s worse than that.” Reed looked down at the letter, the one with a familiar zip code on the postmark. Bring me what I need, Coben had written, and Reed knew that meant only one thing. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. “He wants Ellery.”
Acknowledgments
Four books in now, and I am more appreciative than ever of the terrific people who help me make this happen. I am fortunate to work with the great team at Minotaur, especially my intrepid editor, Daniela Rapp. Her instincts are never wrong, and this book is stronger for her input. Thanks also to Cassidy Graham, for her good humor and attention to detail in helping make this train run on time. If you’ve heard of this book and found it somewhere, that’s probably due to the hard work of Kayla Janas and Danielle Prielipp. They are creative and amazing!
Thanks also to my terrific agent, Jill Marsal, who cheerfully answers all my annoying questions.
I am especially grateful to readers, many of whom I’ve heard from and whose comments, questions, and concerns are always a joy. I love that a shared passion for the written word connects us all.
As ever, this writer gig is way more fun if you are a member of #TeamBump. Thank you for your feedback and encouragement. I am blessed to have a crackerjack squad of betas that includes Katie Bradley, Stacie Brooks, Ethan Cusick, Rayshell Reddick Daniels, Jason Grenier, Suzanne Holliday, Shannon Howl, Robbie McGraw, Michelle Kiefer, Rebecca Gullotti LeBlanc, Jill Svihovec, Dawn Volkart, Amanda Wilde and Paula Woolman.
Thanks as always to my wonderful family, especially Brian and Stephanie Schaffhausen and Larry and Cherry Rooney, for love and support.
Finally, if inspiration starts at home, I am the luckiest writer on the planet because I live with two inspirational human beings: my marvelous husband, Garrett, and our phenomenal daughter, Eleanor. They are the source of all my joy.
Also by Joanna Schaffhausen:
The Vanishing Season
No Mercy
All the Best Lies
About the Author
JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN wields a mean scalpel, skills developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain—how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter. She is also the author of The Vanishing Season, No Mercy, and All the Best Lies. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Also by Joanna Schaffhausen
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
EVERY WAKING HOUR. Copyright © 2020 by Joanna Schaffhausen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by Rowen Davis
Cover image © Stephen Mulcahey/Trevillion Images
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Schaffhausen, Joanna, author.
Title: Every waking hour / Joanna Schaffhausen.
Description: First edition. | New York : Minotaur Books, 2021. | Series: Ellery Hathaway; 4
Identifiers: LCCN 2020035310 | ISBN 9781250249654 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250249661 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3619.C3253 E94 2021 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020035310
eISBN 9781250249661
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2020
Every Waking Hour Page 32