Darkness Rising (The East Salem Trilogy)
A
CCLAIM FOR
W
AKING
H
OURS
“. . . an exciting faith-based series that skillfully blends romantic tension, gripping supernatural suspense, and a brutal crime.”
—
L
IBRARY
J
OURNAL, STARRED REVIEW OF
W
AKING
H
OURS
“Wiehl’s latest is a truly creepy story with supernatural undertones that seems eerily real.”
—
R
OMANTIC
T
IMES REVIEW OF
W
AKING
H
OURS
“. . . a truly chilling predator and some great snappy, funny dialogue will keep readers engaged.”
—
P
UBLISHERS
W
EEKLY REVIEW OF
W
AKING
H
OURS
“This smart, spooky, high-stakes mystery engaged my mind and my spirit. Tommy and Dani’s battle against the seen and unseen forces rising in East Salem has only just begun, but I’m fully invested in their journey.”
—E
RIN
H
EALY
,
AUTHOR OF
T
HE
P
ROMISES
S
HE
K
EEPS
AND
T
HE
B
AKER’S
W
IFE
“A strong debut full of suspense, romance and supernatural mystery. A fine start to the series.”
—A
NDREW
K
LAVAN, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF
T
RUE
C
RIME
AND THE
H
OMELANDERS SERIES
“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, AWARDWINNING AUTHOR OF
R
OOMS
A
CCLAIM FOR
L
IS
W
IEHL’S
T
RIPLE
T
HREAT
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 RADIO ANCHOR
“As a television crime writer and producer, I expect novels to deliver pulsepounding 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
DARKNESS
RISING
DARKNESS
RISING
THE EAST SALEM TRILOGY
BOOK TWO
LIS WIEHL
WITH PETE NELSON
© 2012 by Lis Wiehl
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 Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Page design by Mandi Cofer.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., books may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] ThomasNelson.com.
Scripture quotations are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible as well as the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE
®
, © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-40168-786-1 (IE)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wiehl, Lis W.
Darkness rising / Lis Wiehl with Pete Nelson.
p. cm. -- (The East Salem trilogy ; bk. 2)
ISBN 978-1-59554-943-3
1. Paranormal fiction. 2. Murder--Fiction. 3. Forensic psychiatrists--Fiction. 4. High school students--Fiction. 5. Faith--Fiction. I. Nelson, Peter, 1953- II. Title.
PS3623.I382D37 2012
813’.6--dc23
2012022633
Printed in the United States of America
12 13 14 15 16 17 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my loving mom, Inga Wiehl. And for
Dani and Jacob, from your loving mom.
Contents
Conceiving of and writing a book takes a leap of faith. Thank you to all the readers of the East Salem novels who have taken that leap of faith with me. I am humbled and inspired.
Thank you, O’Reilly, from Wiehl. And Roger Ailes, who took a chance on hiring a certain legal analyst. And Dianne Brandi, whose judgment is infallible.
Thank you to Pete’s lovely wife, Jen, and son, Jack, for all their patience. And to Bob Roe, for his keen eye and pen.
Thank you to the amazing team at Thomas Nelson, including Daisy Hutton, senior vice president and publisher (a true visionary); Ami McConnell, senior acquisitions editor (and compatriot); L.B. Norton (so appreciate your work and sense of humor); Amanda Bostic, acquisitions editor (“brilliant” should be added to her title); Natalie Hanemann, senior editor; Becky Monds, associate editor (and a stellar human being); Jodi Hughes, editorial assistant. In marketing, thank you, Eric Mullett, marketing director; Ashley Schneider, marketing specialist; Ruthie Dean, publicity coordinator; Katie Bond, publicity manager (and one of the finest people I know); and Kristen Vasgaard, packaging manager (who is a creative genius). Your spirit and enthusiasm is wonderfully infectious. And a special thank-you to the awe-inspiring Allen Arnold, my friend always.
Thank you to our book agents, Todd Shuster and Lane Zachary of the Zachary, Shuster, and Harmsworth Literary Agency. We couldn’t have done this without you!
All of the mistakes are ours. All the credit is theirs. Thank you!
Abbie Gardener could remember sitting on the back of a very broad, gray, docile plow horse named Bob. She loved Bob.
“You are a very special girl,” her father had told her, but she knew fathers always told their little girls they were special.
“Why?” she said.
“Because Jesus loves you. Do you believe Jesus loves you?”
“Yes, Papa.”
“Did you say your prayers last night?”
“Yes, Papa.”
“Did you say your prayers this morning?”
“Yes, Papa.”
“That’s a very good girl. You must say your prayers every morning and every evening before bed, and the Lord will protect you and keep you safe.”
And she had done so for many, many years. But lately she couldn’t remember if she’d prayed or not. It troubled her greatly. She was often certain that she had, but the next minute she wasn’t sure, and two minutes after that she’d forgotten what it was she was trying to remember.
Bob pulled a plow. He was a good horse. I used to feed him green apples
.
She suddenly realized where she was. She was not a little girl. She was very old. She was in the same town where she’d lived her whole life. East
Salem, New York. But she was not in her home. She was not on her farm. She was in a nursing home.