“I was always a bit different back home. My family wasn’t keen on having people of my persuasion hanging about. After the war I tried going home where my own parents treated me like an outcast. For a while I sat around wallowing in self-pity, but after Art sent me that medal, I made up my mind to come here to the U.S. in hopes of starting over. Once I got here, the other guy, the second Marine, heard that Anna Lee was looking for a bodyguard and driver, and he put me in touch with her. So that was the second miracle. The rest is history.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Ali asked.
“Because, according to what Mr. Holman tells me, you’ve been through your own kind of war, Ms. Reynolds. And I think you’ve earned your own kind of medal. When the police release it from evidence, I want you to have it.”
“I can’t possibly…”
“Yes, you can,” Brooks insisted. “I’m like Art Reed, you see. I had no idea how far gone Miss Arabella was. If it hadn’t been for you, chances are, I’d be dead now, too, right along with Mr. Ashcroft the third. That’s why I’m determined to pass it along. And now I’d like you to get dressed and come with me. I want to take you for a ride.”
“A ride,” Ali echoed. “Where to?”
“To the house,” Brooks said. “To Anna Lee Ashcroft’s house. To what I hope will be your house someday. I’d like to show you some of the changes I think are in order. Come on now, Ms. Reynolds. Let’s go.”
“Wait a minute,” Ali objected. “I know what you’re doing. This is exactly how you used to treat Arabella—how you’d talk your way around her and get her to do what you wanted. It’s how you got her to be…normal.”
“Exactly,” Mr. Brooks said with a smile. “It worked for Miss Arabella, and I’m quite sure it will work for you as well.”
CUTLOOSEBLOG.COM
Saturday, April 1, 2006
Happy April Fool’s Day. I woke up this morning laughing. What’s so funny? Well, let’s see. I’ve bought a house that needs everything—new plumbing, new wiring, new roof, new windows. How could any of that even remotely be construed as hilarious? For one thing, I’ve never built anything in my life.
I’m sure I’ll have plenty of help. My father is itching to get his hands on the place. So is my son, Chris. So is Leland Brooks. So is Dave Holman.
They’re all brimming over with suggestions about how to do this and that, and I’m prepared to take their ideas under advisement. But if this is going to be my house, I’m going to be the one with the final say. Next week I’ll be traveling down to Phoenix to interview several architects, and we’ll see if one of them measures up.
People who’ve lived through their own remodeling projects tell me that tackling this kind of job is no laughing matter, but this morning I beg to differ. The clouds finally seem to have lifted. Fixing Anna Lee Ashcroft’s house is going to be dreadfully hard work, but I’m looking forward to it. In fact, I can hardly wait.
After months of living in a fog of grief, I’m finally ready to step back out into the sunlight.
Demolition? Plaster dust? Building permits? All I can say is, “Bring it on!”
posted by Babe, 9:27 A.M.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.A. Jance is the Top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series, the J.P. Beaumont series, three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family, and the Ali Reynolds series: Web of Evil and Edge of Evil. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
For a recipe for Sugarloaf Café sweet rolls please go to www.jajance.com and check the recipe page.
ALSO BY J.A. JANCE
ALI REYNOLDS MYSTERIES
Edge of Evil
Web of Evil
JOANNA BRADY MYSTERIES
Desert Heat
Tombstone Courage
Shoot/Don’t Shoot
Dead to Rights
Skeleton Canyon
Rattlesnake Crossing
Outlaw Mountain
Devil’s Claw
Paradise Lost
Partner in Crime
Exit Wounds
Dead Wrong
J.P. BEAUMONT MYSTERIES
Until Proven Guilty
Injustice For All
Trial by Fury
Taking the Fifth
Improbable Cause
A More Perfect Union
Dismissed with Prejudice
Minor in Possession
Payment in Kind
Without Due Process
Failure to Appear
Lying in Wait
Name Withheld
Breach of Duty
Birds of Prey
Partner in Crime
Justice Denied
WALKER FAMILY THRILLERS
Hour of the Hunter
Kiss of the Bees
Day of the Dead
TOUCHSTONE
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New York, NY 10020
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2007 by J.A. Jance
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
TOUCHSTONE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jance, Judith A.
Hand of evil : a novel of suspense / by J.A. Jance.
p. cm.
“A Touchstone Book.”
1. Reynolds, Ali (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Arizona—Fiction.
3. Suspense fiction. I. Title.
PS3560.A44H36 2007
813'.54—dc22 2007016986
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5460-8
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5460-2
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
CONTENTS
{ PREFACE }
{ 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 }
ABOUT THE AUTHOR