Empathy
Page 2
At two.
This man who loved his son. Who was simply trying to protect him.
From her.
Why, he said, standing at the top of that sandpit. Why?
Because anger is as blind as love, and she gave me both.
* * *
I will tell you that a drought took hold of L.A. and turned the brush in the Malibu hills to kindling. That twenty-million-dollar homes went up in smoke. That the drought dried up half the Salton Sea and sucked the water right out of that dump, and that a man disposing of his GE washing machine saw the body wrapped around an old engine casing.
I will tell you that he was ID’d and the bullet in his heart identified as a Walther .45—the kind security guards are partial to, and that a mother came forward and said she’d seen him being coerced into a car near her son’s school by another man.
I will tell you that the wheels of justice were grinding and turning and rolling inexorably toward me.
I will tell you that I am not liked much by the police officers I once worked with, but there is a code that is sometimes thick as blood. That makes an ex-partner whom you almost took down with you get hold of bank records so you might know where a Kelly Marcel has been using her VISA card.
I will tell you that there’s a motel somewhat south of La Jolla where the down-and-out pay by the week.
I will tell you that I drove there.
That I saw her drop the boy at his grandmother’s, who lived in a trailer park by the sea.
That the boyfriend took off for parts unknown.
That it’s down to her.
I will tell you that I sit in a dark motel room.
That I’ve pulled the shades down tight so she won’t see me when she walks in. So she’ll be sure to turn away from me to switch on the light.
I will tell you that I hear her now, the slam of her car door, the crunch of gravel leading up to her door.
I will tell you that my Walther .45 has two bullets in it. Two.
I will tell you the door is opening.
I will tell you that finally and at last the dark no longer scares me, that there is a peace more comforting than anger.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
Who do I say this to?
This I won’t tell you.
I won’t.
* * * * *
Author Biography
James Siegel is the New York Times bestselling author of Derailed and Detour. His first thriller, Epitaph, was nominated for a Shamus Award as best first novel. Derailed, with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, was released in 2005 as a major motion picture.
Be prepared to be thrilled as you’ve never been before…
Discover more thriller stories that will tantalize and terrify. Offering up heart-pumping tales of suspense in all its guises are thirty-two of the most critically acclaimed and award-winning names in the business.
James Penney’s New Identity by Lee Child
Operation Northwoods by James Grippando
Epitaph by J. A. Konrath
The Face in the Window by Heather Graham
Kowalski’s in Love by James Rollins
The Hunt for Dmitri by Gayle Lynds
Disfigured by Michael Palmer and Daniel Palmer
The Abelard Sanction by David Morrell
Falling by Chris Mooney
Success of a Mission by Dennis Lynds
The Portal by John Lescroart and M. J. Rose
The Double Dealer by David Liss
Dirty Weather by Gregg Hurwitz
Spirit Walker by David Dun
At the Drop of a Hat by Denise Hamilton
The Other Side of the Mirror by Eric Van Lustbader
Man Catch by Christopher Rice
Goodnight, Sweet Mother by Alex Kava
Sacrificial Lion by Grant Blackwood
Interlude at Duane’s by F. Paul Wilson
The Powder Monkey by Ted Bell
Surviving Toronto by M. Diane Vogt
Assassins by Christopher Reich
The Athens Solution by Brad Thor
Diplomatic Constraints by Raelynn Hillhouse
Kill Zone by Robert Liparulo
The Devils’ Due by Steve Berry
The Tuesday Club by Katherine Neville
Gone Fishing by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Lock the doors, draw the shades, pull up the covers and be prepared for these stories to keep you up all night.
* * *
Did you know that Harlequin My Rewards members earn FREE books and more?
Join
www.HarlequinMyRewards.com
today to start earing your FREE books!
* * *
Connect with us on www.Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/Newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781488094415
Empathy
Copyright © 2006 By James Siegel
First published as part of an anthology of works entitled Thriller in 2006.
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com