Thief River Falls (36 page)

“Hey, Lis,” Noah said, his chirpy voice sounding like when they were kids. “More fan mail. You want me to write back to some of these people for you? You’re going to need some help.”

Lisa shook her head. “No, I’ll do it myself.”

“That’s a lot of letters.”

“That’s okay. I want to do every one.”

Noah dropped down onto the window bench next to her. “Sorry I was late getting here today. Janie and I are getting settled in at the old house. Whenever you’re ready to blow this place, you can stay there, too. I mean, unless you want to go back to your house in Lake Bronson.”

Lisa shook her head firmly. “No. If I learned anything, it’s that I belong in Thief River Falls.”

“Well, who says you can’t go home again?” Noah replied. “Hey, by the way, I passed Denis and Gillian Farrell on my way in. Did they really come to see you?”

“They did. Little miracles are everywhere this week.”

“How was it?”

“Honestly, we all cried together. We cried for Danny, and we cried for Harlan. It was good. Not only that, prepare yourself for the fact that we are actually invited to Thanksgiving dinner in the Farrell household this year. You, me, Janie.”

“Get out.”

“It’s true. Denis apologized for shutting us out all these years. I don’t know if Gillian made him say that, but it sounded sincere. He even admitted that he thought it was rather badass of me to turn him into a homicidal maniac in
Thief River Falls
. He asked if there was going to be a sequel.”

“And is there?” Noah asked.

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Oh, no. That book was a stand-alone, believe me. After this week, I may start writing romance novels.”

Noah looked away toward the door. He saw something in the hallway that Lisa couldn’t see from where she was, and his face flushed. “Janie’s here,” he told her. “She can’t wait to meet you.”

“I can’t wait to meet her, too,” Lisa replied. “I love the idea of you getting married, you know. It’s a new beginning, and that’s what we need.”

“Well, we sort of have a surprise, too. I didn’t want to tell you before now. I wanted to wait to make sure it would be okay.”

“Is it a good thing?”

“It’s a very good thing.”

“Okay, what is it?”

Noah waved at his fiancée outside the hospital room. Janie came in—carrying more flowers balanced in both arms—and Lisa understood the surprise immediately. She found her eyes drawn to Janie’s swollen belly. Lisa didn’t hear much of anything else after that. She was vaguely aware of Janie talking to her and telling her how much she loved her books and how much she loved her brother. But Lisa just kept staring at Janie and thinking about the baby inside her, and finally, Noah and Janie both noticed that tears had begun to fall down Lisa’s cheeks.

“Hey,” Noah said, reaching out to grab her hand. “Hey, are you okay?”

Lisa nodded. She was crying, but this wasn’t sadness. This was something she hadn’t felt in forever. Joy. She was overjoyed.

“I’m so happy for you two,” she managed to say.

Noah beamed. “Thanks, Lis.”

“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” she asked.

Janie glanced at Noah and then smiled at Lisa to give her the news. “A boy.”

“And actually,” Noah went on, “we already have a name picked out. He’s going to be Danny.”

Lisa just kept crying. It felt wonderful. “Danny,” she said.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Thanks for reading
Thief River Falls
. I hope you enjoyed this very emotional novel as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.

If you liked this book, be sure to check out all my other thrillers, too. Visit my website at
bfreemanbooks.com
to join my mailing list, get book club discussion questions, and find out more about me and my books.

Finally, if you enjoy my books, I hope you’ll post your reviews online at sites like Amazon, Goodreads, Audible, and other sites for booklovers—and spread the word to your reader friends, too. Thanks!

You can write to me with your feedback at
[email protected]
. I love to get e-mails from listeners and readers around the world, and yes, I reply personally. You can also “like” my official fan page on Facebook at
facebook.com/bfreemanfans
or follow me on Twitter or Instagram using the handle
bfreemanbooks
. For a look at the fun side of the author’s life, you can also “like” the Facebook page of my wife, Marcia, at
facebook.com/theauthorswife
.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Every novel is the product of work by a team of talented people. I’m fortunate to work with some of the best in the business.

My editor at Thomas & Mercer, Jessica Tribble, has been a wonderful guide on the creative side of my books for several years, and she is also the efficient hand leading the entire publication process. I worked with a superb developmental editor on this novel, David Downing, whose advice was extremely helpful in getting us to the final draft. Copyeditors Susan Stokes and Laura Barrett caught all the little things that authors tend to miss, and they patiently put up with my jokes in the comments, too. The entire team at T&M are amazing professionals in putting first-rate books in the hands of readers, and it’s a privilege to work with them.

My first reader on every book is my wife, Marcia. She is wonderful at challenging my preconceived notions, and she makes sure that my vision for the book makes it onto the page. My other advance reader is Ann Sullivan, who adds her own extremely helpful perspective on the first draft. Marcia and Ann both play a huge role in shaping the books, and given the uniqueness of
Thief River Falls
as a story, I relied heavily on their help and advice in making sure this novel achieved what I wanted.

My agent in New York, Deborah Schneider, has been my ally and advocate for more than fifteen years. I’m incredibly grateful to her and
her colleagues at Gelfman Schneider, ICM, and Curtis Brown for helping me build relationships with publishers around the world.

Of course, I am especially grateful to YOU, the readers, for coming along with me on this ride and for taking my characters into your hearts. Thank you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Malyssa Woodward

Brian Freeman is an Amazon Charts bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Frost Easton and Jonathan Stride series. His books have been sold in forty-six countries and translated into twenty-two languages. His stand-alone thriller
Spilled Blood
was named Best Hardcover Novel in the International Thriller Writers Awards, and his novel
The Burying Place
was a finalist for the same honor.
The Night Bird
, the first book in the Frost Easton series, was one of the top twenty Kindle bestsellers of 2017. Brian is widely acclaimed for his vivid “you are there” settings, from San Francisco to the Midwest, and for his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots.

Brian lives in Minnesota with his wife, Marcia. For more information on the author and his books, visit
http://bfreemanbooks.com
.