A Deadly Business
ACCLAIM FOR LIS WIEHL
A MATTER OF TRUST
“
A Matter of Trust
is a stunning crime series debut from one of my favorite authors, Lis Wiehl. Smart, suspenseful, and full of twists that only an insider like Wiehl could pull off. I want prosecutor Mia Quinn in my corner when murder’s on the docket—she’s a compelling new character and I look forward to seeing her again soon.”
—L
INDA
F
AIRSTEIN
,
N
EW
Y
ORK
T
IMES
BEST
-
SELLING AUTHOR
“Dramatic, moving, intense.
A Matter of Trust
gives us an amazing insight into the life of a prosecutor—and mom. Mia Quinn reminds me of Lis.”
—M
AXINE
P
AETRO
,
N
EW
Y
ORK
T
IMES
BEST
-
SELLING
AUTHOR
THE TRIPLE THREAT SERIES
“Only a brilliant lawyer, prosecutor, and journalist like Lis Wiehl could put together a mystery this thrilling! The incredible characters and nonstop twists will leave you mesmerized. Open [
Face
of
Betrayal
] and find a comfortable seat because you won’t want to put it down!”
—E. D. H
ILL
, FOX N
EWS ANCHOR
“Three smart women crack the big cases! Makes perfect sense to me. [
Face
of
Betrayal
] blew me away!”
—J
EANINE
P
IRRO
,
FORMER
DA;
HOST OF THE
CW’
S
DAYTIME
COURT
TELEVISION REALITY SHOW
J
UDGE
J
EANINE
P
IRRO
“Who killed loudmouth radio guy Jim Fate? The game is afoot!
Hand
of
Fate
is a fun thriller, taking you inside the media world and the justice system—scary places to be!”
—B
ILL
O’R
EILLY
, FOX TV
AND
R
ADIO
ANCHOR
“As a television crime writer and producer, I expect novels to deliver pulse-pounding tales with major twists.
Hand
of
Fate
delivers big-time.”
—P
AM
V
EASEY
,
WRITER AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF
CSI: NY
“Book three in the wonderful Triple Threat series is a fast-paced thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. What makes these books stand out for me is my ability to identify so easily with Allison, Nic, and Cassidy. I truly care about what happens to each of them, and the challenges they face this time are heart-wrenching and realistic. I highly recommend!”
—D
EBORAH
S
INCLAIRE
,
EDITOR
-
IN
-
CHIEF
, B
OOK
-
OF
-
THE
-M
ONTH
C
LUB
AND
THE
S
TEPHEN
K
ING
L
IBRARY
“Beautiful, successful, and charismatic on the outside but underneath a twisted killer. She’s brilliant and crazy and comes racing at the reader with knives and a smile. The most chilling villain you’ll meet . . . because she could live next door to you.”
—D
R
. D
ALE
A
RCHER
,
CLINICAL
PSYCHIATRIST
,
REGARDING
H
EART
OF
I
CE
WAKING HOURS
“. . . an exciting faith-based series that skillfully blends romantic tension, gripping supernatural suspense, and a brutal crime.”
—
L
IBRARY
J
OURNAL
“. . . a truly chilling predator and some great snappy, funny dialogue will keep readers engaged.”
—
P
UBLISHERS
W
EEKLY
“One word describes
Waking
Hours
by Wiehl and Nelson—
WOW!
A gut-wrenching ride of supernatural suspense that left me breathless and wanting more. The book was a reminder that the battle between God and Satan is not over. Highly recommended!”
—C
OLLEEN
C
OBLE
,
BEST
-
SELLING AUTHOR OF
L
ONESTAR
A
NGEL
AND
THE
R
OCK
H
ARBOR SERIES
“A gripping plot, intriguing characters, supernatural underpinnings, and a splash of romance make
Waking
Hours
a fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable read. I want the next book in the series now!”
—J
AMES
L. R
UBART
,
AWARD
-
WINNING
AUTHOR
OF
R
OOMS
ALSO BY LIS WIEHL
Snapshot
The Mia Quinn Mysteries
(with April Henry)
A Matter of Trust
The Triple Threat Series
(with April Henry)
Face of Betrayal
Hand of Fate
Heart of Ice
Eyes of Justice
The East Salem Trilogy
(with Pete Nelson)
Waking Hours
Darkness Rising
Fatal Tide
© 2014 by Lis Wiehl and April Henry
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., books may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected]
Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the authors’ imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-0-7180-1605-0 (IE)
ISBN: 978-1-4016-9140-0 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wiehl, Lis W.
A deadly business : a Mia Quinn mystery Lis Wiehl with April Henry.
pages cm
“A Mia Quinn mystery.”
ISBN 978-1-59554-904-4 (hard cover)
I. Title.
PS3623.I382D43 2014
813'.6—dc23
013049751
Printed in the United States of America
14 15 16 17 18 19 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my children, Jacob and Dani, with my unconditional love. Always. Mom
CONTENTS
MONDAY
T
here are a million ways to die. As a prosecutor in Seattle’s King County Violent Crimes Unit, Mia Quinn had become familiar with far too many. But before the first week of November was over, she would learn there were even more ways than she’d thought.
“Good afternoon, Your Honor,” Mia said as Judge Rivas took the bench. Her phone hummed in her pocket, signaling a call or text, but she ignored it. Judge Rivas was a stickler for courtroom decorum.
He inclined his buzz-cut head toward Mia, who stood at attention behind the prosecution table. “Good afternoon, Counselor.” He turned toward the empty defense table. “Is Mr. Dockins here?”
The courtroom clerk, Trevor Gosden, answered, “Yes. He’s in with Mr. Young.”
Despite the formal titles used in court, Mia thought that Trevor’s
use of
Mister
most certainly did not belong with the name Young. Rolf Dockins was the defense attorney, a gentleman from the top of his silver hair down to his highly polished wing tips. And Bernard Young was the glowering twenty-two-year-old defendant he represented, aka the monster who had raped and strangled two runaway girls.
Today Young was to be sentenced. There were only a few observers in the courtroom, most of them relatives of the girls. Mia had asked for life in prison, and felt confident Young would get it. Her case was airtight. Dockins had done what he could, but she was sure down to her bones that it wouldn’t be enough. Young would never be able to hurt anyone again.
A side door opened and Rolf walked in, followed by Young in an orange jumpsuit. A sheriff’s deputy brought up the rear.
Mia watched them walk toward the defense table, not thinking about anything except how her phone was buzzing again. Maybe she could manage to sneak a peek as she sat down.
Then Young’s upper lip curled back and his eyes narrowed. His face was full of rage. And faster than Mia could react, faster than she could even process what was happening, he broke into a run. Straight for her. Then he lunged.
Young had already fisted her hair in one hand before Mia drew breath to scream. The other hand pressed against her throat. They tumbled backward. She was still screaming when his weight punched all the air out of her.
“Get off her!” Trevor yelled, swearing. “Get off her!” And then he threw himself on top of Young, wrestling with him. Mia’s thoughts ping-ponged from the pain in her scalp to the pressure on her throat to the sheer crushing weight of the two men. She squirmed and kicked and pushed, trying to get away, but she was pinned in place.
“Just try it on me, man,” Trevor panted. “I’ll beat the crap out of you.”
Now the deputy was grabbing at Young, yelling, adding his orders to the tumult. Even Rolf, who was seventy if he was a day, knelt next
to them and began to yank and grab, trying to subdue his client. Mia found a brief moment to hope that the deputy didn’t draw his gun. All of them were so close together.