by Joel Goldman
Abby screamed, leaping onto Evans's back, hanging on, clawing Evans's eyes. Evans bucking Abby off him, Abby hitting her head on a brick pillar, her body limp. Evans raised his knife over her, Mason crawling toward Abby, slipping in his blood, his reach too short, Evans kicking him, the blow unfelt, the bellow of a gun spinning Evans around, the bullet taking him down.
Mason looked up, his vision clouded. Samantha was standing over him, Blues checking Evans's body, Harry picking up Abby.
"No pulse," Blues said.
"She's good," Harry said.
"He's a mess," Samantha said, Mason smiling as he passed out.
Chapter 41
Mason kicked his legs, extending his arms in long strokes, pulling the water past him, kicking again, bubbles erupting from his nose and mouth as the surface beckoned, a gleaming light fracturing the water, voices breaking through his anesthesia-induced dream.
"He's coming out of it," Claire said.
Mason blinked, opening his eyes, the room shifting, his mouth a desert, his limbs deadweights, sensation returning in slow motion. His arm itched, an IV drip taped over his wrist, his chest tingling from electrodes tracking his heartbeat. Turning his head, seeing the equipment surrounding his bed, he broke out into a loopy grin.
"Not dead," Mason said, his tongue getting in the way.
"Not yet," Claire said, sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands cupping his, Blues, Harry, and Mickey hovering behind her.
"Abby," Mason said.
"She's fine. Rest easy. We'll be back," Claire told him. Mason was too weak to argue, drifting again, Samantha watching him from the foot of his bed the next time he woke, ignorant of the day or passage of time.
"I'm tired of watching you wake up in the hospital," Samantha said, "but you look great."
"You're a lousy liar," he told her.
"You can't stand the truth," she said.
"Thank you, Jack Nicholson. What happened at Abby's?"
Samantha breathed deeply, the memory still raw. "Iowa Highway Patrol stopped the car Evans had rented, only Evans wasn't driving."
"Hitchhiker," Mason said.
"That's right. Based on what Carol Hackett told you, we figured Evans was still in town looking for you and we assumed you were at Abby's."
"You got there pretty quick."
"Blues and Harry figured it the same way and were out the door as soon as I got word from Iowa. I had to catch up to them. We didn't want to barge in without knowing what was going on, so I called Abby from the first floor of her building. She told me what I needed to know."
Mason laughed, his chest begging him to stop. "You didn't mind being the other woman?"
"At least I'm in the equation, even if it's on the wrong side," she said.
"Was it you?" Mason asked her.
"Yeah," Samantha said softly. "It was me. Ortiz called it a justifiable shooting all the way. I'm back on duty tomorrow."
"Your first time?"
"Yeah," she said again. "First time. Can't say that anymore."
"I'm sorry, but thanks," Mason told her, Samantha waving him off.
"Lou," she said.
"I know," he interrupted. "Time off."
After Samantha left, Mason found the controls for his hospital bed, raised himself up far enough to see the television, turning it on with the remote control just to find out what day it was. CNN convinced him that it was Monday morning. He'd been in the hospital since early Sunday morning, with no memory of the surgery to repair the damage Evans had inflicted.
He'd seen doctors, nurses, orderlies, friends, and relatives, but not Abby. He'd been poked, prodded, and palpated, but had not felt Abby's touch. The only information he had about her was Claire's promise that she was fine, and he wasn't certain whether he'd heard that in one of his dreams.
Mason reached for the call button, hoping the nurse would know or find out what had happened to her, his gut twisting as he speculated why she hadn't been to see him and why no one had told him more about her condition. The moment he pushed the button, the door to his room swung open, a nurse pushing Abby in a wheelchair, her dark hair pulled back from her bandaged neck, her skin as gray as her hospital gown, the nurse parking her next to his bed, leaving them alone.
Abby took his hand, Mason covering hers with both of his. "Hey," she said.
"Hey yourself," Mason answered, neither one letting go, Mason biting back tears, Abby's leaping off her cheeks.
"I don't remember the last time I made a turkey," Claire said, as she sat down at the new dining room table Mason had bought in time for Thanksgiving.
"I was sixteen," Mason said. "I brought a girl home for dinner you didn't like and you roasted the turkey until it tasted like leather. My girlfriend thought you were sending her a message and dumped me."
"This turkey tastes great," Abby said, passing the large serving plate to Jordan Hackett.
Abby never told Jordan that she had thought she might be her mother, deciding that Jordan needed a friend, not someone else with an uncertain title. She helped Jordan find a new doctor, and Jordan was going back to school, working part-time for Abby, putting her life together a day at a time before she tried to find her baby.
Mason delivered his closing argument to Abby as they walked around Loose Park two weeks after they were released from the hospital, the last apple and gold leaves clinging to the trees, the sun battling the first hard frost to a draw. He told her about the dark water, promising he wouldn't go back, telling her he couldn't take the chance of losing her.
"Don't make a promise you can't keep. It's who you are," she told him. "You can't be anyone else."
"I can be anyone I have to be for you," he answered.
"No you can't," Abby said, "because I can only love the one you are."
Their wounds healed faster than their souls, Abby trading her loft for an apartment, grieving privately for a child she never knew, Mason not pushing her, understanding the nightmares that shattered her sleep. Work provided an anchor, normal gradually feeling normal again, Mason turning down criminal cases, Mickey starting a pool betting on when he'd relent, Blues winning the pool a week before Thanksgiving, Mason telling Abby, Abby nodding.
"Be careful. Make the case about the client, not about you," she said, Mason trying to figure out how.
Mason bought the dining room table and the living room furniture after Abby explained that she could never be with a man that used his dining room as a dock for a rowing machine and his living room as a kennel for his dog. Mason moved the rowing machine to the basement and Tuffy's pillow to the master bedroom.
Mason looked around his new table, covered with a Thanksgiving spread. Mickey spun trash to the amusement of Rachel Firestone and her partner, Mickey's girlfriend sticking her finger in her mouth, pretending to be sick. Claire read Harry an article Rachel had written, Harry struggling with the small print, listening close, learning to accept Claire's eyes as his own. Blues came without a date, saying this was family time, talking jazz with Jordan. Tuffy roamed the room in table-scrap heaven. Mason's picture of his great grandparents hung on the wall, Mason sure they were smiling.
Each conversation rose from the table, punctuated by laughter and the clink and clang of crystal, china, and silver, verbal notes mixing, a beautiful noise. Mason reached for Abby's hand. She covered his with hers.
THANKS
Thank you for adding Cold Truth to your library. This is an exciting time to be a writer and a reader. The indie revolution has given writers the chance to connect with readers in ways that were never imagined before.
I've included previews of the first two Lou Mason thrillers, Motion To Kill and The Last Witness plus a preview of the next novel in the series, Deadlocked, which will be available soon as an ebook and POD. Enjoy them all and stay in touch.
Find out more about Joel Goldman at http://www.joelgoldman.com
Follow his blog at http://www.joelgoldman.blogspot.com
Sign up for his newsletter at http://www.joelgoldman.com/newslet
ter.php
Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/JoelGoldman1
Follow him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/joel.goldman
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my fellow writers, Lee Goldberg and Paul Levine, for their ongoing help guiding me on my self-publishing journey.
Thanks also to Steven W. Booth and Genius Book Services – www.geniusbookservices.com – for formatting this book and Jeroen ten Berge for designing the cover. I couldn't ask for better support.
Table of Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
Cold Truth
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Thanks
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Novels by Joel Goldman
Copyright
About The Author
Joel Goldman is an Edgar and Shamus nominated author who was a trial lawyer for twenty-eight years. He wrote his first thriller after one of his partners complained about another partner and he decided to write a mystery, kill the son-of-a-bitch off in the first chapter and spend the rest of the book figuring out who did it. No longer practicing law, he offices at Starbucks and lives in Kansas City with his wife and two dogs.
NOVELS BY JOEL GOLDMAN
Motion to Kill
The Last Witness
Cold Truth
Deadlocked
Shakedown
The Dead Man
No Way Out
Motion To Kill
Lee Child and Michael Connelly recommend Motion To Kill! If you like the action, suspense and excitement in their books, you'll love Motion To Kill!
"The story line never skips a beat. Fans will set in motion a plea for Mr. Goldman to return with more Mason (Lou not Perry) legal thrillers."
—Harriett Klausner
"Lou Mason is still the sexy, brilliant but flawed counselor who is thrown into chaos and finds order. The plot leads you to the edge like the thrilling Yungas cliff road in Bolivia."
—Elizabeth Wenig
When two of his partners are killed, corruption, sex and murder fill trial lawyer Lou Mason's docket as he tracks the killer. Will Lou be the next victim? Found out in Motion To Kill, the action-packed, can't-put-it-down first book in the Lou Mason thriller series!
"Joel Goldman is the real deal!"
—John Lescroart, Bestselling author of the Dismas Hardy thriller series.
"A real page-turner with plenty of action and many surprising twists and turns along the way driven by the wise-cracking protagonist and a great supporting cast."
—David A. Berman
"The plot races forward."
—Amarillo Globe-News
Shakedown
If you like the knockout suspense of Michael Connelly and the gritty "who done its" by Linda Fairstein, you'll love Joel Goldman's Shakedown!
"Goldman tells a story at a breakneck pace…"
—Kansas City Star
"A killer identified via a fleeting facial expression and behavioral cues turns a middle-agend FBI agent dealing with a disruptive disability into an unexpected hero in Goldman's latest terrific thriller."
—Publisher's Weekly
When FBI Agent Jack Davis investigates a mass murder, a leak of crucial information and his imploding personal life throw him into the ultimate danger zone – where truth lies at the heart of betrayal.
Need a thrill pill? Take Shakedown and stay up all night!
"Shakedown is a really fine novel. Joel Goldman has got it locked and loaded and full of the blood of character and the gritty details that make up the truth. Page for page, I loved it."
—Michael Connelly, NYT Bestselling Author
"Shakedown is a chillingly realistic crime novel – it's fast-paced, smartly plotted, and a gripping read to the very last page. Joel Goldman explores – with an insider's eye – a dark tale of murder and betrayal."
—Linda Fairstein, NYT Bestselling Author
James Patterson fan's - take off on a rocket-fueled suspense ride with Shakedown, the first book in the Jack Davis Thriller series by Joel Goldman.
The Dead Man
If you like John Grisham's twists and turns and James Patterson's page-turning thrills, you'll love Joel Goldman's The Dead Man, the second book in the Jack Davis Thriller series!
"A masterful blend of rock-solid detective work and escalating dread. The Dead Man is both a top-notch thriller and a heart-rending story of loss, courage and second chances. I loved it."
Robert Crais, NYT Best Selling Author
"The Dead Man is one of those rare novels you will be tempted to read twice: the first time to enjoy, and the second to appreciate how Goldman puts the pieces together. The hours spent on both will be more than worth it."
—Joe Hartlaub, Bookreporter.com
When FBI Agent Jack Davis investigates a mass murder, a leak of crucial information and his imploding personal life throw him into the ultimate danger zone – where truth lies at the heart of betrayal.
Think John Grisham meets James Patterson and you've got Joel Goldman in The Dead Man!
"Goldman's realistic setting, fast-paced dialogue and chilling plotting will have you wanting to read more in this gritty suspense series."
—Cindy Bauer, bookpleasures.com
"The Dead Man has all the plots and twists one may expect from a Grisham novel and the pace of a James Patterson crime story."
—Carolyn LeComte, Curledup.com
It doesn't get any better than that, so grab The Dead Man and don't let go!
COLD TRUTH
JOEL GOLDMAN
Copyright © 2004 by Joel Goldman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Author, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
