The 9th Judgment (26 page)

“Boxer,” he said, “I’m sorry not to be at your dinner party, but I’ve been in lockdown at the Hall with Tracchio and the mayor.
This is the bottom line: Tracchio has had enough. He’s resigning and I’m moving up to captain.”

I was openmouthed and peeved when the beep cut him off. So I dialed up the next message.

“As I was saying, Boxer, you can have your old job back,” Jacobi said, in a message he’d left several hours before.

“You’ll be lieutenant again, with all the perks, ha-ha. But for damned sure you can call the shots in Homicide. I’ll get you
more manpower, I promise you that. If you don’t want the job, I’ll give it to Jackson Brady. You have first call, but you
have to let me know right away. The chief is making the announcement first thing Tuesday morning.”

The next two calls from Jacobi were brief: “Boxer, call me back.” The final one was last night.
I’d missed a deadline I didn’t know I had.

What had Jacobi decided to do? Replace himself with me? Or with Jackson Brady? Clearly I’d lost my chance to vote. I tried
Jacobi’s phone and got a busy signal. It happened when I called him the next time, too.

I started up my car and headed toward the Hall of Justice, but where was I really heading? I had no idea.

Our great thanks to these top professionals who shared with us their valuable time and expertise during the writing of this
book: Philip R. Hoffman, Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, Captain Richard Conklin, Mickey Sherman, Clint Van Zandt, Dr. Maria Paige,
Dr. Mike Sciarra, Darcy Hammerman Dalton, Michael Burke, and Stephen Donini.

Our special thanks to our stupendous researchers: Lynn Colomello, Lauren Sheftell, Ellie Shurtleff, and, of course, Mary Jordan,
the woman with twelve pairs of hands.

JAMES PATTERSON has had more
New York Times
bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to
Guinness World Records
. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1976, James Patterson’s books have sold more than 180 million copies. He is
the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including
Kiss the Girls
and
Along Came a Spider
. Mr. Patterson also writes the bestselling Women’s Murder Club novels, set in San Francisco, and the top-selling New York
detective series of all time, featuring Detective Michael Bennett.

James Patterson also writes books for young readers, including the award-winning Maximum Ride, Daniel X, and Witch and Wizard
series. In total, these books have spent more than 200 weeks on national bestseller lists, and all three series are in Hollywood
development.

His lifelong passion for books and reading led James Patterson to launch a new website,
ReadKiddoRead.com
, to give adults an easy way to locate the very best books for kids. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

MAXINE PAETRO is the author of three novels and two works of nonfiction, and the coauthor of seven books with James Patterson.
She lives in New York with her husband.

FEATURING ALEX CROSS

I, Alex Cross

Alex Cross’s Trial
(with Richard DiLallo)

Cross Country

Double Cross

Cross

Mary, Mary

London Bridges

The Big Bad Wolf

Four Blind Mice

Violets Are Blue

Roses Are Red

Pop Goes the Weasel

Cat & Mouse

Jack & Jill

Kiss the Girls

Along Came a Spider

THE WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB

The 9th Judgment
(with Maxine Paetro)

The 8th Confession
(with Maxine Paetro)

7th Heaven
(with Maxine Paetro)

The 6th Target
(with Maxine Paetro)

The 5th Horseman
(with Maxine Paetro)

4th of July
(with Maxine Paetro)

3rd Degree
(with Andrew Gross)

2nd Chance
(with Andrew Gross)

1st to Die

FEATURING MICHAEL BENNETT

Worst Case
(with Michael Ledwidge)

Run for Your Life
(with Michael Ledwidge)

Step on a Crack
(with Michael Ledwidge)

FOR READERS OF ALL AGES

FANG: A Maximum Ride Novel

Maximum Ride: The Manga 2
(with NaRae Lee)

Witch & Wizard
(with Gabrielle Charbonnet)

Daniel X: Watch the Skies
(with Ned Rust)

MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel

Maximum Ride: The Manga 1
(with NaRae Lee)

Daniel X: Alien Hunter
(graphic novel; with Leopoldo Gout)

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
(with Michael Ledwidge)

The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

Maximum Ride: School’s Out—Forever

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

OTHER BOOKS

The Murder of King Tut
(with Martin Dugard)

Swimsuit
(with Maxine Paetro)

Against Medical Advice
(with Hal Friedman)

Sail (with Howard Roughan)

Sundays at Tiffany’s
(with Gabrielle Charbonnet)

You’ve Been Warned
(with Howard Roughan)

The Quickie
(with Michael Ledwidge)

Judge & Jury
(with Andrew Gross)

Beach Road
(with Peter de Jonge)

Lifeguard
(with Andrew Gross)

Honeymoon
(with Howard Roughan)

santaKid

Sam’s Letters to Jennifer

The Lake House

The Jester
(with Andrew Gross)

The Beach House
(with Peter de Jonge)

Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas

Cradle and All

When the Wind Blows

Miracle on the 17th Green
(with Peter de Jonge)

Hide & Seek

The Midnight Club

Black Friday
(originally published as
Black Market
)

See How They Run
(originally published as
The Jericho Commandment
)

Season of the Machete

The Thomas Berryman Number

For previews of upcoming books by James Patterson and more information
about the author, visit
www.JamesPatterson.com
.