“Cool. Did they find you any famous relatives?”
“I didn’t get that far. Let me check.” He switched to the browser again and poked around until he found the “genetic connections” tab. Maybe I’m secretly royalty, he thought as he opened it. Only this link didn’t call up long-dead ancestors. Instead, it listed people within the database who had similar genetic profiles: Kimberly, Lynette, and Suzanne. Confused, Reed clicked “more information.” Maybe they had tagged him as a relative, he thought. That’s why the system had linked all of them together.
The screen showed a silhouette of a person next to Kimberly’s name. Predicted relationship, it said, half-sibling. Possible range: aunt. Confidence: 98%.
The results came up the same for Lynette and Suzanne. Three tests couldn’t be wrong, could they? He had to be related to them, genetically related. The phone started to slip out of his hand, which was now coated in sweat. Dimly, he heard Ellery’s voice come through, tinny and far away: “Reed? Are you there?”
He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He felt hot and dizzy, like he might throw up.
“Reed? Is that still you?”
Reed couldn’t reply. He was no longer sure of the answer.
Author’s Note
Reed Markham’s mother, Camilla, was Latina and native to Puerto Rico. Some readers may be curious why Reed’s genetic analysis does not mention anything about “Latino” DNA or refer to any Latin American countries in the results. The reason is that “Latino” is a racial construct, like “white,” or “black,” and so one would not see “Latino” DNA listed as part of the analysis.
Reed’s analysis identifies his ancestry as European, Asian, African, and Native American. Due to human migration patterns, essentially everyone currently living in the Americas is some variety of European, Asian, African, and/or Native American ancestry. Reed’s mixture of all of these is what one might expect for someone who identifies as biracial with one parent of Latina heritage and one parent of Caucasian heritage.
Also by Joanna Schaffhausen
The Vanishing Season
About the Author
Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, a skill developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain—how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked for ABC News, writing for such programs as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter. She is also the author of The Vanishing Season. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Author’s Note
Also by Joanna Schaffhausen
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
NO MERCY. Copyright © 2019 by Joanna Schaffhausen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photographs: woman © Mark Owen / PlainPicture; window © Rebecca Nelson / Arcangel; city © Kristy Campbell / Arcangel
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-29736-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-29737-2 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250297372
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First Edition: January 2019