Without Mercy

by Lisa Jackson

  “Shay!” Her name was spat now, Apple-Cheeks was really pissed off. Shay slowly turned her head and looked into the consternation on Nurse Amy’s face. She kept her own eyes blank, didn’t let the fire of hatred burning deep in her soul shine through, even managed a bit of drool to show on the side of her mouth.

  “Didn’t you hear me, honey?”

  Oh, I heard you, you cretin, I just didn’t want to answer.

  “It’s time for your meds.”

  Trying to appear dull, Shay accepted the cup of pills and slowly pretended to take them as Apple-Cheeks, frowning now, moved off to the next imbecile of a patient.

  Idiot!

  Shay always pretended to take the pills, faking swallowing, then stuffing them into her shoes when no one was looking. She hid the pills, of course, couldn’t run around and mash them, but they were safely tucked away. Who knew when she might need them? The pills, a knife from the cafeteria, a small pair of scissors from craft time and the tiny screwdriver she’d lifted off the maintenance man’s tool belt he’d laid on the floor when he’d tried to fix the cable TV. All her precious items secreted away in a makeup bag, which was taped to the bottom of a rolling cart holding Connie’s belongings.

  If the contraband was ever discovered, it would look like Connie, a forty-something real whack who had kleptomaniac tendencies, had stolen it. That’s right, folks, blame it on Connie the Klepto.

  All in good time, Shay thought, forcing herself to be calm. She hated being locked up, but it wouldn’t be forever, and she knew exactly what she would do once she escaped.

  She had some scores to settle: Edie was on the list, along with Cooper Trent, that rodeo-riding son of a bitch. But the one she really wanted to deal with was her sister: Jules.

  Shaylee’s blood boiled at the thought of her sister. She’d counted on her and Jules, true to form, had let her down, mortified her, caused her to end up here in a hospital with maniacs and morons. Jules was the reason she was here. Make no mistake.

  Yes, Shaylee thought, Jules would have to pay and pay with her life.

  The Taylor Swift song ended with a familiar guitar chord, then faded into an advertisement for Blue Rock Academy. Her insides went stone cold as Shay listened hard to the ridiculous mother spouting her worries about her daughter, and finally, the daughter, in a younger, cheery voice saying something inane about the school turning her life around.

  “Save me,” Shay muttered, one fist clenching.

  “And now, I have my daughter back,” the mother assured the listeners in a bright, confident voice.

  Shay remembered the campus, the mountains, the icy waters of Lake Superstition, and all of the people who had sworn to help her. They’d all only made things worse.

  Even Jules.

  Especially Jules.

  Idly, Shay wondered who was running the academy now.

  Not that it mattered.

  She was never going back.

  Never!

  Not even when she escaped, she thought, smiling inside, her watery reflection leering back at her in the glass, because she knew that her escape would happen very, very soon …

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Without Mercy! I loved writing this book. From the moment I heard an advertisement for a school for troubled teens on the radio, I knew I had to come up with a story about just such an academy. I imagined all kinds of trouble that could brew within the school’s honored but rotting walls. Since writing the book, I have even imagined going back to the same setting, resurrecting the school along with some of its more memorable students and faculty. Maybe. Someday.

  For now, I’ve got some other books in the works and they’ll soon be available. In May of 2018, my sister Nancy Bush and I have a new book on the shelves. One Last Breath is a new thriller and this is a stand-alone book, not part of the Wicked series. We came up with new characters and an interesting plot that blends a runaway-bride story with a twisted murder mystery. The book is a fun ride. Nancy and I wrote separate portions of the book and wove them together. We spent many hours walking or driving and talking about our characters, the setting, and plot. The book starts off with a bang. Literally. At the wedding of Rory Abernathy and Liam Bastian, all hell breaks out. Not only is the wedding party assaulted by a sniper, but the bride fends off a would-be assassin and literally runs for her life to disappear … or so she hopes in this love story/thriller. I think you’ll like One Last Breath!

  Then in July, Liar, Liar, my next stand-alone thriller, will be available. This one’s a little different for me. Set in Las Vegas and Northern California, the story starts with the suicide of a flamboyant Marilyn Monroe impersonator who never quite made it to the big time. The thing is, the impersonator vanished years earlier after “selling” one of her twin babies to the child’s father, a shady character himself, but pulling a switcheroo in the process. The father got the child he didn’t want in the swap and possibly died in the desert. Now, upon what appears to be the death of DiDi Storm, the impersonator, it’s up to her daughter, Remmi, to ferret out the truth and find her missing half-sibling if the child survived the gruesome explosion. She must also keep her own secrets of her past well hidden while avoiding Noah Scott, the boy she once loved and who is tied inextricably to the tragedy of the past. Liar, Liar is a thrill ride and I loved writing it.

  Also, this summer, You Will Pay, my best-selling hardcover from last year, will be available as a paperback. This is the story of a dead body being discovered on the shores of the ocean near Cape Horseshoe, where years ago a counselor at a camp disappeared. Now it seems as if her remains—or someone else’s—have been found and everyone who had been at the camp that summer is forced to return to unbury their secrets, face the ghosts of the past, and try to stay alive. Who knows the truth? Does the missing camper’s ghost still haunt the dunes over the Pacific? Who terrorized the camp long ago, and is the killer back? Check out You Will Pay.

  For those of you who are waiting for the next installment of the Grizzly Falls series featuring Detectives Regan Pescoli and Selena Alvarez, look for Willing to Die, coming in 2019. Also, there will be another book in the New Orleans series. That’s right: The boys— Detectives Montoya and Bentz—will be back in late 2019.

  For more info on these stories and others, check out www.lisa jackson.com or visit my Facebook and Twitter pages. Join the party!

  Thanks!

  Lisa

  Please turn the page

  for a very special Q&A

  with Lisa Jackson!

  How did you come up with the idea for Without Mercy?

  This is one of my favorite stories. The idea for Without Mercy came as I was driving on a bright spring day. I remember exactly where I was, stopped at a traffic light, when from the radio an advertisement for a school for “troubled teens” came on the air. As I listened to the ad, and the mother of the girl who was acting out, the announcer, and the teen herself, I wondered what it would take for me to send my kid to one of those places. My children were no angels, but still, to ship one off, so far away? And what if the school wasn’t what it seemed? What if evil lurked within its hallowed walls? As I was ruminating, lost in thought, I heard a loud honk. I’d daydreamed to the extent that the light had turned green and I hadn’t even noticed. The guy in the vehicle behind me was upset. I hit the gas, did a quick one-eighty, and flew home. Once I’d dropped my keys and picked up my phone, I called my editor, told him I had a new idea, and then wrote it and sent it to him. That’s how Without Mercy was born. Other ideas aren’t quite that easy.

  Without Mercy is a stand-alone novel. I’ve heard that sometimes you find writing stand-alone novels easy and sometimes it’s more challenging. Was the writing of Without Mercy easy or challenging?

  This was one of the easier books. I was “into” it right away, and the characters grabbed me. I just had such a clear picture of what this book would be. I usually prefer to write my series books because I know the characters, but Jules and Shay spoke to me, really g
ot under my skin, and I love the setting. This was a real fun one. I loved writing Without Mercy.

  Your novel Deep Freeze was written against the backdrop of a chilly winter. In Without Mercy, your characters are stranded in a boarding school due to a snowstorm. The weather plays a big part in both stories. Do you think the two books are similar in any way?

  Well, as you said, both books are set in a brutal winter, and there are teenagers with problems in each story, but I think the books are very different. Jules, the heroine, doesn’t have children, and Shay is her younger sister. Her family is dysfunctional to the max, and her love interest is someone she knew from the past. In Deep Freeze, the heroine, Jenna Hughes, is an actress escaping Hollywood and its glitzy lifestyle. She’s trying to provide a more normal life for her children, and the man who becomes the hero is a lawman she’s never met before. Also, the killers are vastly different. In Deep Freeze, the killer is obsessed with Jenna, while in Without Mercy, the murders seem more random and all take place in the school.

  You’ve gotten a lot of feedback on the character of Shay. You might even say she’s a fan favorite. Why do you suppose that is?

  That’s a surprise. Shay is a complicated, flawed character who somehow resonated with my readers. She’s smart and pretty, and highly motivated, and oh so troubled. She’s unique and quirky, a manipulator that you love to hate. So maybe there’s a little bit of Shay in all of us.

  At the end of your novel After She’s Gone, Shay makes, shall we say, a special guest appearance. Why did you do that? And did you get any sort of feedback from readers who recognized her?

  I, too, love Shay, and readers are clamoring for another story involving her. I get more requests for a sequel to Without Mercy than any other book. So yes, some fans saw her in After She’s Gone, but that was just a taste, and they all indicate they want more. Who knows? Maybe someday. I love having characters or places from one book show up randomly in another. It’s fun to hear from fans who make the connection. It’s kind of a game, I guess.

  Do you have any plans to bring Shay back and, if you did, would she be just as scheming/manipulative as she was in Without Mercy or would you rehabilitate her?

  I would love to write her story, but it hasn’t gelled yet. I see her as kind of a tragic figure who would grow up, take responsibility, but never be able to keep all of her demons at bay; they’re too much a part of her and keep her interesting. I can’t imagine Shay being Suzie Secretary or Holly Housewife, and certainly not Tara Teacher, but maybe something a little more out there. I have another character rattling around in my brain and it would be oh so interesting if those two teamed up!

  Last time we did a Q&A with you, it was October. This time around, it’s June! Any special plans for the summer?

  I recently moved, and so I’m settling in and hope to have a yard by the end of the summer. I’m looking forward for my three dogs (two pugs and a beagle) to have some room to roam that isn’t all dust and dirt and mud. I’m also going to have to have a knee surgery I’ve put off for a few years, so I’ll be able to dig into that To Be Read pile that just keeps growing and growing. This summer I’m also attending Thrillerfest in New York in July and I intend to spend hours on the beach with friends before I convalesce. I’m also going to use the time to plot out some ideas for new books. I’ve got a few that keep poking at me.

  What’s Lisa Jackson reading for pleasure these days?

  I read what’s recommended by friends or what I see on the bestseller lists. Lately, I’ve been reading (or listening to, as I love audio books) Stephen King. I’m into Mr. Mercedes after reading 11/22/63 about the assassination of JFK, as told through King’s character and time travel. I can’t recommend that one enough. Mr. Mercedes is fabulous as well. I also read The Century series by Ken Follett. Fascinating. Three large books: Fall of Giants, Winter of the World, and Edge of Eternity. An incredible series that points out we humans just can’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again. I also keep up with my sister Nancy Bush’s latest, and I’m into Liane Moriarty, Paula Jones, and Ruth Ware. Oh, and let’s not forget the Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie books for the grandkids! Should I Share My Ice Cream? is a fave, as is Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Ruben and Daniel Salmieri. Highly recommend!

  And when it comes to TV shows and movies, any recommendations?

  Yes! Orphan Black is fabulous, and I also am watching the new Twin Peaks and Game of Thrones, as well as Bates Motel, and I always catch Survivor, though I’m never sure why. Lately, I’ve been watching Disney movies, new and old, with the grandkids. I loved Moana, and the song has been rattling around in my head ever since seeing it for the fourth, or was it the ninth, time.

  What project are you currently working on right now?

  Currently I’m finishing up Willing to Die, the next book in my Grizzly Falls, Montana, series. It’s a lot of fun as Regan Pescoli (Santana) now is the exhausted mother of a newborn. Along with her older, near-adult children, husband, and job as a detective she’s practically dead on her feet and has no patience for the next killer who dares cross her path. Next up? The latest Montoya/Bentz novel, which has a working title of Die Twice (though that could change!). I’ll keep everyone posted about publication dates. I can’t tell you how great it will be to be back in the Big Easy with my favorite male cop duo. New Orleans has always held a special place in my heart!

  In this riveting page-turner from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson, a woman searches for the mother she hasn’t seen in twenty years, and uncovers a nightmare of greed and deception….

  In death, Didi Storm is finally getting the kind of publicity that eluded her in life. Twenty years ago, the ex–beauty queen worked the Vegas strip as a celebrity impersonator, too busy trying to make it big to spare much time for her daughter, Remmi. Shortly before she leaped from a San Francisco building, Didi’s profile was rising again, thanks to a tell-all book. To Detective Dani Settler, it looks like a straightforward suicide, or perhaps a promotional stunt gone wrong. But Remmi knows the truth isn’t so simple. Because though the broken body on the sidewalk is dressed in Didi’s clothes and wig, it isn’t Didi.

  Remmi was fifteen when she last saw her mother. Their parting came in the aftermath of a terrible night in the Mojave desert when Remmi—who’d secretly stowed away in Didi’s car en route to meet her crush, Noah Scott—instead became witness to a mysterious rendezvous. Didi handed over one of her newborn twins to a man Remmi didn’t recognize. Subsequently, Didi disappeared, as did Remmi’s other half-sibling. Remmi has pleaded with the authorities to find them, but there have been no clues. Yet she’s always had the sense that someone is watching her….

  If the victim isn’t Didi, who is it—and what’s the connection? Remmi is shocked when Noah resurfaces. He was also in the desert that night, and now runs his own PI firm. He too believes it’s time to find out what really happened. As they and Detective Settler dig deeper, the truth about Remmi’s missing family begins to emerge … a story of ruthless ambition and twisted lies that someone will kill again and again to keep hidden….

  Please turn the page for an exciting sneak peek of

  Lisa Jackson’s

  LIAR, LIAR

  coming soon wherever print and e-books are sold!

  PROLOGUE

  San Francisco

  Now

  No! No! No!

  Forcing her way through a gathering crowd that had been barricaded across the sloped street, Remmi shielded her eyes with one hand and stared upward, through the thickening fog to the ledge of the Montmort tower. “Oh, God.” Squinting through the fog to somewhere near the twentieth floor, she guessed, she saw a woman balanced precariously on a ledge, her back to an open hotel room window, sheer curtains billowing behind her.

  It couldn’t be.

  It just couldn’t!

  Not when Remmi was so close … so damned close. Please, no!

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, she’s gonna jump!” a tall man said under his b
reath. He wore a heavy jacket and stocking cap, and a one-year-old in a hooded snowsuit was strapped to his chest. “Dear God.” He quickly sketched the sign of the cross over his chest and the baby. Red faced from the cold, the child began to whimper, but his father barely seemed to notice.

  Sirens wailed, fire trucks and police cruisers collecting near the base of the stalwart San Francisco Hotel, an art deco edifice of concrete and marble that had withstood earthquakes and fires, riots and time, rock stars and politicians now pulsing with the fierce, eerie lights of emergency vehicles. People were talking, jamming the roped-off area of the steep San Franciscan street.

  And high on the ledge a woman with short platinum hair, the hem of her pink dress dancing around her knees, wobbled on her matching heels, swaying enough to make some of the onlookers gasp while others screamed.

  Don’t do it!

  Heart in her throat, her pulse pounding in her ears, Remmi pushed her way through the throng held at bay by police officers and yellow tape strung hastily over A-frame barricades. It was near dusk, the lights of the city winking through the thickening mist, the streets shiny and wet, the bay nearly invisible at the bottom of the steep hillside. Most of the crowd, heads tilted back, stared, gape-mouthed, hands to their chests at the thin ledge where the woman balanced so precariously.

  “This is horrible. Horrible!” a woman in a stocking cap and padded jacket whispered, but transfixed, as they all were, couldn’t turn away. Her gloved hand was clamped over that of a boy with raggedy brown hair and freckles, a baseball cap crammed onto his head.

  “Let me through.” Remmi shouldered her way closer to the police line. “Come on.”

  The gloved woman observed, “She looks like Marilyn Monroe.”

  “Marilyn who?” her son, all of about twelve, asked, earbuds visible beneath his baseball cap, acne vying with fuzz on his jaw as he stared upward to where the would-be jumper stood so precariously.