Read The Art of Deception Online
Authors: Ridley Pearson
The Art of Deception (53 page)
“That doesn’t sit right with me. You’re saying you don’t want me to open this up?” Was Foreman playing him? Taking it away so that Boldt would reach all the harder for it? And why was he suckering into it?
“It’s open now, isn’t it? I know how you are. Leave it be, Lou. Be a pal and pass it off to my guys.”
It still felt like an attempt at reverse psychology. The paperwork finally came through and Foreman was officially admitted. An X-ray orderly arrived to escort Foreman to the “photo booth.” Boldt stayed seated in the uncomfortable chair, a three-week-old copy of
People
magazine dog-eared in the Plexiglas rack, Stephen King looking at him sideways.
Boldt called out, “I’ll wait and see if you need a ride home.”
Foreman trundled off, his walk giving away the lingering effect of the drugs. Boldt felt a knot in his throat, still stunned
that friendship could go so far wrong, guilty for getting all the breaks while Danny Foreman had gotten none.
He hunkered down for a long wait, thinking to call Liz so she didn’t wait up.
Liz lived.
Boldt heard the words echo around in his head.
Like it was some kind of crime.
I wish to acknowledge the following for their help and guidance in the research and editing of
The Art of Deception.
The mistakes are all mine.
Donna Meade, Rachel Farnsworth, David Laycock, Ray York: Idaho State Police Forensics Lab.
Dr. Alyn Duxbury—University of Washington, Oceanographic Sciences, retired.
Andy Hamilton, United States Attorney’s Office, Seattle, Washington
Detective Marsha Wilson, Seattle Police Department
David Thompson, Murder by the Book, Houston, Texas
CJ Snow, BookSource, St. Louis, Missouri
JB Dickey & Tammy Domike, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, Washington
The Underground Tour, Seattle, Washington
Heidi Mack, ridleypearson.com website design/management
Nancy Litzinger, Louise Marsh, office management
Mary Peterson, Hailey, Idaho
Chris Towle, Towle and Co., St. Louis, Missouri
Gary Shelton, Ketchum, Idaho
Robbie Freund, Creative Edge, Hailey, Idaho
Thanks, too:
Matthew Snyder, CAA, Beverly Hills, California
Albert Zuckerman, Writers House, New York
Editors:
Leigh Haber
Ed Stackler
Leslie Wells
Albert Zuckerman
Ridley Pearson
is the co-author of the bestselling
Peter and the Starcatchers
. His novels have sold over six million copies and have been translated into twenty languages. The bestselling author of fourteen novels, including
The Body of David Hayes
and
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer
, he is the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in detective fiction at Oxford University. He divides his time between Sun Valley, Idaho, and St. Louis, Missouri.
PARALLEL LIES:
“Pearson
(No Witnesses,
etc.) has written another terrific thriller …”
—
Library Journal
“… Pearson remains near the top of the genre.”
—
Booklist
“… a killer combination of Patricia Cornwell and John D. MacDonald with a soupçon of Thomas Harris.”
—Stephen King
“… grabs, he twists, he tightens the screws until you’re drained by a superior read.”
—Clive Cussler
“Pearson works this man-on-the-run episode like a pro … you’ll be rewarded with a bravura display of acceleration.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
PRAISE FOR
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE:
“Excitement quotient: high; technology details: intriguing.”
—
USA Today
“Master plotter, reliable thrills from a pro.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“Fast-paced read from beginning to end. Pearson is able to effortlessly intertwine several detailed plot lines while still keeping his story firmly robed in reality.”
—
New York Post
“Pearson uses clear, forthright prose that perfectly exposes the psychological doubts and fears of his characters and keeps the plot racing from scene to scene. Craftily, Pearson weaves his web.”
—
Providence Sunday Journal
PRAISE FOR
THE FIRST VICTIM:
“Razor-sharp plotting and timing.”
—
Seattle Times
“There is no one writing police novels with the precise touch of Pearson. His stories are thoroughly researched, heartbreaking and full of escalating suspense.”
—
Rocky Mountain News (Denver)
PRAISE FOR
THE PIED PIPER:
“Pearson proves once again that he can put together a big-scale, big-time police manhunt better than anybody else in the business.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“A master of the genre. We all should thank Ridley Pearson for the gift of good characters and great plots.”
—
Washington Times
“Pearson is a first-rate winner, and
The Pied Piper
won’t disappoint his growing number of fans.”
—
Knight Ridder New Service
PRAISE FOR
BEYOND RECOGNITION:
“Pearson’s dazzling forensics will hook his usual fans. But it’s the richness of incident and the control of pace that’ll keep them dangling as he switches gears each time you think the story’s got to be winding down in this exhilarating entertainment.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“Pearson has all the sharps and flats he needs to keep his roller-coaster rhythm rising and falling, speeding and slowing, yet somehow always building, winding us tighter.”
—
Booklist
“Pearson has the details of a murder investigation down cold.”
—
San Francisco Chronicle
PRAISE FOR
CHAIN OF EVIDENCE:
“This is an impeccable, high-speed thriller.”
—
Boston Sunday Globe
“Pearson handles the complex plot with grace and speed, packing a potent blend of action and procedural information into his work. A must-read for thriller fans.”
—
Chicago Tribune
“The gadget man is back with a bag of new toys. You don’t have to be a techno-nerd to get wired on this scary stuff.”
—
New York Times Book Review
“Pearson weaves psychology and suspense into this tale of high-tech clues and complex motives.”
—
Playboy
“Ridley Pearson is an unequivocal success. I’m hooked again.”
—
Entertainment Weekly
PRAISE FOR
NO WITNESS:
“Tough and intelligent.”
—Fort Worth
Star-Telegram
“Up-to-the-nanosecond techno-thriller.”
—
New York Times
“Infused with astonishingly effective overtones.”
—
Boston Globe
“Good old-fashioned storytelling.”
—
Washington Post Book World
“A serious, well-researched, complex thriller.”
—
Los Angeles Times
PRAISE FOR
THE ANGEL MAKER:
“Exceptionally gripping and full of amazing forensic lore: a topflight offering from an author who has clearly found his groove.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“A chilling thriller.”
—Dell Publishing
PRAISE FOR
HARD FALL:
“Pearson excels at novels that grip the imagination.
Hard Fall
is an adventure with all engines churning.”
—
People
magazine
“Mesmerizing urgency.”
—
Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Nifty cat-and-mouse caper. Crisply written tale.”
—
Chicago Tribune
PRAISE FOR
UNDERCURRENTS:
“Neatly constructed plot. Hair-raising denouement. Remarkable insight and understanding of the motivations of the criminal mind.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Undercurrents
is a roller-coaster ride in the dark.”
—Book of the Month
PRAISE FOR
PROBABLE CAUSE:
“Filled with clues, both planted and missed, fancy forensic footwork, and intriguing snares. A whole lot of suspense. A satisfying, gripping police procedural.”
—
Booklist
“A sleek, cleverly plotted part-psychological thriller, part-courtroom drama.”
—
Los Angeles Times
PRAISE FOR
NEVER LOOK BACK:
“A masterly debut. Powerful yet poignant suspense story.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“A breakneck-action first novel.”
—
Booklist
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red
(writing as Joyce Reardon)
Parallel Lies
Middle of Nowhere
*
The First Victim*
The Pied Piper*
Beyond Recognition*
Chain of Evidence
No Witnesses*
The Angel Maker*
Hard Fall
Probable Cause
Undercurrents*
Hidden Charges
Blood of the Albatross
Never Look Back
Writing as WENDELL McCALL
Dead Aim
Aim for the Heart
Concerto in Dead Flat
SHORT STORIES
“All Over but the Dying” in
Diagnosis: Terminal,
edited by F. Paul Wilson
“Close Shave” in
Murder-Love-Set-Match,
edited by Otto Penzler
COLLECTIONS
The Putt at the End of the World,
a serial novel
TELEVISION
Investigative Reports: Inside AA
(A&E Network, June 2000)
*
features Lou Boldt / Daphne Matthews
Copyright © 2002 Page One, Inc.
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EPub Edition © AUGUST 2010 ISBN: 978-1-401-39838-5
FIRST MASS MARKET EDITION
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