Hunter had taken that photo himself, a day after he and Jessica had got engaged. She was standing on Santa Monica pier, smiling at the camera, her eyes glistening with an overwhelming happiness. Staring at the photograph, Hunter’s heart was filled with a barrage of old and brand new emotions. He felt a knot coming to his throat, but then he remembered the words Director Kennedy had told him in the early hours of the morning.
‘Before you go, Robert, I want to make sure you understand something. I’m not going to pretend I know, because I can’t even begin to imagine what’s going on inside your mind right now. But I can tell you this, no matter what; you must stand proud, because thanks to you, we estimate that we’ll be able to bring closure and final peace of mind to at least eighty families around the USA. Lucien’s twenty-five-year murderous spree is finally over. You ended it. Don’t ever forget that.’
Hunter knew he never would.
Acknowledgements
It’s a well-known fact that writing is regarded as a solitary occupation, but I have found out that though authored by a single individual, a novel is never the achievement of one alone.
My most sincere thanks go to all the incredible people at Simon & Schuster UK and to my editor, Jo Dickinson, whose great input and valuable suggestions made the story and the characters in this thriller come alive. Also, to my copy editor, Ian Allen, for his incredible work and attention to detail all throughout the manuscript.
Words can’t express how thankful I am to the most passionate and extraordinary agent any author could ever hope for – Darley Anderson.
To the fantastic team of extremely hard-working people at The Darley Anderson Literary Agency, I owe my eternal gratitude.
Thank you also to all the readers and everyone out there who has so fantastically supported me and my novels from the start. Without your support, I wouldn’t be writing.
Table of Contents
Half-title page
About the author
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Contents
Part One: The Wrong Man
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Part Two: The Right Man
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Sixty
Sixty-One
Sixty-Two
Sixty-Three
Sixty-Four
Sixty-Five
Sixty-Six
Sixty-Seven
Sixty-Eight
Sixty-Nine
Part Three: A Race Against Time
Seventy
Seventy-One
Seventy-Two
Seventy-Three
Seventy-Four
Seventy-Five
Seventy-Six
Seventy-Seven
Seventy-Eight
Seventy-Nine
Eighty
Eighty-One
Eighty-Two
Eighty-Three
Eighty-Four
Eighty-Five
Eighty-Seven
Eighty-Eight
Eighty-Nine
Ninety
Ninety-One
Ninety-Two
Ninety-Three
Ninety-Four
Ninety-Five
Ninety-Six
Ninety-Seven
Ninety-Eight
Ninety-Nine
One Hundred
One Hundred and One
One Hundred and Two
One Hundred and Three
One Hundred and Four
One Hundred and Five
One Hundred and Six
One Hundred and Seven
One Hundred and Eight
One Hundred and Nine
One Hundred and Ten
One Hundred and Eleven
One Hundred and Twelve
One Hundred and Thirteen
Acknowledgements