Women's Murder Club [01] 1st to Die
FIRST CLASS RAVES FOR
JAMES PATTERSON AND HIS NEWEST
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
1ST
TO DIE
“PATTERSON BOILS A SCENE DOWN TO THE SINGLE, TELLING DETAIL, THE ELEMENT THAT DEFINES A CHARACTER OR MOVES A PLOT ALONG. It’s what fires off the movie projector in the reader’s mind.”
—Michael Connelly, author of A Darkness More Than Night
“THE MAN IS THE MASTER OF THIS GENRE. We fans all have one wish for him: Write even faster.”
—Larry King, USA Today
“HIS CLEVER TWISTS AND AFFECTING SUBPLOTS KEEP THE PAGES FLYING.”
—People (Page-Turner of the Week)
“DELIVERS A SHARP PUNCH.”
—Chicago Tribune
“THAT RAPID-FIRE, IN-YOUR-FACE, YOU’D-BETTER-KEEP-READING-OR-ELSE FORMAT WILL MAKE YOU FINISH 1ST TO DIE IN ONE SITTING (barring World War III, a 9.1 earthquake or the Ebola virus).”
—Denver Rocky Mountain News
“PATTERSON KNOWS WHERE OUR DEEPEST FEARS ARE BURIED…. THERE’S NO STOPPING HIS IMAGINATION.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Patterson’s prose style is smart… powering the plot along smoothly…. Works to keep readers glued tight right to the end. A WALLOPING GOOD RIDE.”
—Buffalo News
“[A] NEAT TRICK OF AN ENDING.”
—Janet Maslin, New York Times
“A clever plot with enough LAST-MINUTE REVELATIONS TO KEEP YOU GUESSING.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“JAMES PATTERSON WRITES HIS THRILLERS AS IF HE WERE BUILDING ROLLER COASTERS. He grounds the stories with a bare-bones plot, then builds them over the top and tries to throw readers for a loop a few times along the way.”
—Associated Press
“A SLICK, TAUT THRILLER…. Patterson keeps the pace moving at top speed. 1st TO DIE is a darn good book.”
—Orlando Sentinel
“A good story with a murderer as twisted as any Patterson has created—and AN ENDING THAT WILL TAKE READERS BY SURPRISE.”
—Newark Star-Ledger
“POLISHED, BRISKLY WRITTEN ENTERTAINMENT… DELIVERS THE SPINE-TINGLY GOODS.”
—Sunday Oregonian
“A SURE BET FOR A BESTSELLER.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“HE’S DONE IT AGAIN.… CLEVER KICKOFF TO A NEW SERIES… A GLEAMING MACHINE OF A NOVEL.… Patterson… isn’t afraid to reach as a writer.”
—Publishers Weekly
“If you want to—gasp—scare yourself silly, GRAB JAMES PATTERSON’S LATEST THRILLER.”
—Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinal
“PATTERSON, WHO FIRST HOOKED CRIME-THRILLER FANS WITH HIS SERIES OF ALEX CROSS NOVELS, DOESN’T MISS A BEAT. The plot moves at breakneck speed…. Patterson manages a fine balance…. and he keeps the reader guessing right up to a scary double-twist ending.”
—Memphis Commercial Appeal
“PATTERSON SHOWS HE’S 2nd TO NONE.… Patterson catches us again with book in hand and fingers turning those pages just as quickly as we did for other favorites, Along Came a Spider, Pop Goes the Weasel, and Kiss the Girls.”
—Oakland Press
“SOLID, THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTER… newcomers to his work will be enthralled.”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“ONE OF THE MOST CREATIVE AND SADISTIC KILLERS SINCE HANNIBAL LECTER.… There are surprises in store right up to the last page.”
—BookPage
“PATTERSON AGAIN PROVES HIMSELF A MASTER OF THE CRAFT.… Such a great book: every time you think you’ve got it all figured out, you realize the killer is still a step ahead.”
—Providence Sunday Journal
“PATTERSON HAS KICKED OFF HIS NEW SERIES IN STYLE.… A page-turner in the classic sense of the term.”
—Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate
“PATTERSON KEEPS UP THE SUSPENSE UNTIL THE VERY LAST PAGE and will have readers looking forward to the second installment in the series.”
—Booklist
“READERS WLL ENJOY THE HEART-PUMPING PLOT AND ROOT FOR THE LADIES TO SUCCEED.”
—Midwest Book Review
“HIS MANY FANS WILL BE WELL PLEASED WITH THIS FIRST BOOK OF A NEW SERIES FEATURING FOUR COURAGEOUS AND INTELLIGENT WOMEN.”
—Roanoke Times
“THE RELENTLESS VELOCITY is guaranteed to hook fans of the bestselling Patterson.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“PATTERSON IS A TERRIFIC STORYTELLER… moves along at a rapid pace.”
—Winston-Salem Journal
“Master of the serial killer genre, Patterson again keeps us on edge right to the last page. LET’S HOPE THE CLUB CONTINUES TO MEET.”
—Sunday Oklahoman
PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS NOVELS OF JAMES PATTERSON
ALONG CAME A SPIDER
“JAMES PATTERSON DOES EVERYTHING BUT STICK OUR FINGER IN A LIGHT SOCKET TO GIVE US A BUZZ.”
—New York Times
“WHEN IT COMES TO CONSTRUCTING A HARROWING PLOT, AUTHOR JAMES PATTERSON CAN TURN A SCREW ALL RIGHT. James Patterson is to suspense what Danielle Steel is to romance.”
—New York Daily News
KISS THE GIRLS
“TOUGH TO PUT DOWN.… TICKS LIKE A TIME BOMB, ALWAYS FULL OF THREAT AND TENSION.”
—Los Angeles Times
“AS GOOD AS A THRILLER CAN GET.… WITH KISS THE GIRLS, PATTERSON JOINS THE ELITE COMPANY OF THOMAS HARRIS AND JOHN SANFORD.”
—San Francisco Examiner
JACK & JILL
“FORTUNATELY PATTERSON HAS BROUGHT BACK HOMICIDE DETECTIVE ALEX CROSS.… He’s the kind of multilayered character that makes any plot twist seem believable.”
—People
“Captivating…. A fast-paced thriller full of surprising but realistic plot twists.… CROSS IS ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST LIKABLE CHARACTERS IN THE MODERN THRILLER GENRE.”
—San Francisco Examiner
“QUICK AND SCARY.”
—New York Daily News
CAT & MOUSE
“FAST PACED… THE PROTOTYPE THRILLER FOR TODAY.”
—San Diego Union-Tribune
“A RIDE ON A ROLLER COASTER WHOSE BRAKES HAVE GONE OUT.”
—Chicago Tribune
POP GOES THE WEASEL
“CROSS IS ONE OF THE BEST PROTAGONISTS OF THE MODERN THRILLER GENRE, AND ONE OF THE MOST LIKABLE.”
—San Francisco Examiner
“FAST AND FURIOUS.…IN THE PATTERSON PANTHEON OF VILLAINS, SHAFER IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE WORST.”
—Chicago Tribune
ROSES ARE RED
“PATTERSON KNOWS WHERE OUR DEEPEST FEARS ARE BURIED…. THERE’S NO STOPPING HIS IMAGINATION.”
—New York Times Book Review
“THRILLING… SWIFT… A PAGE-TURNER.”
—People
“IT STARTS OUT, BANG!… PATTERSON HAS GOT THE MATERIAL DEAD ON.”
—Baltimore Sun
“PATTERSON MASTERMINDS ANOTHER THRILLER.… Once again, we’re left to wonder, how does this man continue to write gripping tales that keep us turning pages into the wee hours of the night until the book is finished, and we’re disappointed there isn’t more to read?”
—Oakland Press
Also by James Patterson
The Thomas Berryman Number
Season of the Machete
See How They Run
The Midnight Club
Along Came a Spider
Kiss the Girls
Hide & Seek
Jack & Jill
Miracle on the 17th Green
(with Peter de Jonge)
Cat & Mouse
When the Wind Blows
Pop Goes the Weasel
Black Friday
Cradle and All
Roses Are Red
Copyright
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
WARNER BOOKS EDITION
Copyright © 2001 by James Patterson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Warner Books, Inc.
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com
First eBook Edition: March 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7595-2454-5
Contents
First Class Raves For
Also by James Patterson
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Book One: DAVID AND MELANIE
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
Book Two: THE WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Book Three: RED BEARD
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Book Four: THE WHOLE TRUTH
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Epilogue
A Preview of 2ND CHANCE
Prologue
Part I
Acknowledgments
My thanks to the following people, whose hard work and expertise helped in the writing of this book.
Dr. Greg Zorman, Chief of Neurosurgery, Lakeland Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who I’d like on my side in a crisis.
The lovely and talented Fern Galperin, Mary Jordan, Barbara Groszewski, and Irene Markocki.
Prologue
INSPECTOR LINDSAY BOXER
IT IS AN UNUSUALLY WARM NIGHT in July, but I’m shivering badly as I stand on the substantial gray stone terrace outside my apartment. I’m looking out over glorious San Francisco and I have my service revolver pressed against the side of my temple.
“Goddamn you, God!” I whisper. Quite a sentiment, but appropriate and just, I think.
I hear Sweet Martha whimpering. I turn and see she is watching me through the glass doors that lead to the terrace. She knows that something is wrong. “It’s okay,” I call to her through the door. “I’m okay. Go lie down, girl.”
Martha won’t leave, though, won’t look away. She’s a good, loyal friend who’s been nuzzling me good-night every single night for the past six years.
As I stare into the Border collie’s eyes, I think that maybe I should go inside and call the girls. Claire, Cindy, and Jill would be here almost before I hung up the phone. They would hold me, hug me, say all the right things. You’re special, Lindsay. Everybody loves you, Lindsay.
Only I’m pretty sure that I’d be back out here tomorrow night, or the night after. I just don’t see a way out of this mess. I have thought it all through a hundred times. I can be as logical as hell, but I am also highly emotional, obviously. That was my strength as an inspector with the San Francisco Police Department. It is a rare combination, and I think it is why I was more successful than any of the males in Homicide. Of course, none of them are up here getting ready to blow their brains out with their own guns.
I lightly brush the barrel of the revolver down my cheek and then up to my temple again. Oh God, oh God, oh God. I am reminded of soft hands, of Chris, and that starts me crying.
Lots of images are coming way too fast for me to handle.
The terrible, indelible honeymoon murders that terrified our city, mixed with close-ups of my mom and even a few flashes of my father. My best girls — Claire, Cindy, and Jill — our crazy club. I can even see myself, the way I used to be, anyway. Nobody ever, ever thought that I looked like an inspector, the only woman homicide inspector in the entire SFPD. My friends always said I was more like Helen Hunt married to Paul Reiser in Mad About You. I was married once. I was no Helen Hunt; he sure was no Paul Reiser.
This is so hard, so bad, so wrong. It’s so unlike me. I keep seeing David and Melanie Brandt, the first couple who were killed, in the Mandarin Suite of the Grand Hyatt. I see that horrifying hotel room, where they died senselessly and needlessly.
That was the beginning.
Book One
DAVID AND MELANIE
Chapter 1
BEAUTIFUL LONG-STEMMED RED ROSES filled the hotel suite — the perfect gifts, really. Everything was perfect.
There might be a luckier man somewhere on the planet, David Brandt thought as he wrapped his arms around
Melanie, his new bride. Somewhere in Yemen, maybe — some Allah-praising farmer with a second goat. But certainly not in all of San Francisco.
The couple looked out from the living room of the Grand Hyatt’s Mandarin Suite. They could see the lights of Berkeley off in the distance, Alcatraz, the graceful outline of the lit-up Golden Gate Bridge.
“It’s incredible.” Melanie beamed. “I wouldn’t change a single thing about today.”
“Me either,” he whispered. “Well, maybe I wouldn’t have invited my parents.” They both laughed.
Only moments before, they had bid farewell to the last of the three hundred guests in the hotel’s ballroom. The wedding was finally over. The toasts, the dancing, the schmoozing, the photographed kisses over the cake. Now it was just the two of them. They were twenty-nine years old and had the rest of their lives ahead of them.
David reached for a pair of filled champagne glasses he had set on a lacquered table. “A toast,” he declared, “to the second-luckiest man alive.”
“The second?” she said, and smiled in pretended shock. “Who’s the first?”
They looped arms and took a long, luxurious sip from the crystal glasses. “This farmer with two goats. I’ll tell you later.
“I have something for you,” David suddenly remembered. He had already given her the perfect five-carat diamond on her finger, which he knew she wore only to please his folks. He went to his tuxedo jacket, which was draped over a high-backed chair, and returned with a jewelry box from Bulgari.