Ricochet

Zusatztext "A masterful storyteller." -- USA Today Informationen zum Autor Sandra Brown is the author of seventy-three New York Times bestsellers. She has published over eighty novels and has upwards of eighty million copies of her books in print worldwide. Her work has been translated into thirty-five languages. Four books have been adapted for film. She lives in Texas. Klappentext The "New York Times" bestselling author of "Chill Factor" returns with a chilling story of murder, romance, and betrayal in high society where one rough-and-tumble detective might find his own life on the line. Available in a tall Premium Edition. Ricochet CHAPTER 1 Six Weeks Earlier THE MURDER TRIAL OF ROBERT SAVICH WAS in its fourth day. Homicide detective Duncan Hatcher was wondering what the hell was going on. As soon as court had reconvened after the lunch break, the defendant’s attorney, Stan Adams, had asked the judge for a private meeting. Judge Laird, as perplexed by the request as ADA Mike Nelson, had nonetheless granted it and the three had withdrawn to chambers. The jury had retired to the jury room, leaving only the spectators to question the significance of this unexpected conference. They’d been out for half an hour. Duncan’s anxiety grew with each passing minute. He’d wanted the trial to proceed without a blip, without any hitch that could result in an easy appeal or, God forbid, an overturned verdict. That’s why this behind-closed-doors powwow was making him so nervous. His impatience eventually drove him out into the corridor, where he paced, but never out of earshot of the courtroom. From this fourth-floor vantage point, he watched a pair of tugs guide a merchant ship along the channel toward the ocean. Then, unable to stand the suspense, he returned to his seat in the courtroom. “Duncan, for heaven’s sake, sit still! You’re squirming like a two-year-old.” To pass the time, his partner detective, DeeDee Bowen, was working a crossword puzzle. “What could they be talking about in there?” “Plea bargain? Manslaughter, maybe?” “Get real,” he said. “Savich wouldn’t admit to a parking violation, much less a hit.” “What’s a seven-letter word for surrender?” DeeDee asked. “Abdicate.” She looked at him with annoyance. “How’d you come up with that so fast?” “I’m a genius.” She tried the word. “Not this time. ‘Abdicate’ doesn’t fit. Besides, that’s eight letters.” “Then I don’t know.” The defendant, Robert Savich, was seated at the defense table looking way too complacent for a man on trial for murder, and much too confident to allay Duncan’s anxiety. As though feeling Duncan’s stare on the back of his neck, Savich turned and smiled at him. His fingers continued to idly drum the arms of his chair as though keeping time to a catchy tune only he could hear. His legs were casually crossed. He was a portrait of composure. To anyone who didn’t know him, Robert Savich looked like a respectable businessman with a slightly rebellious flair for fashion. For court today he was dressed in a suit of conservative gray, but the slim tailoring of it was distinctly European. His shirt was pale blue, his necktie lavender. His signature ponytail was sleek and glossy. A multicarat diamond glittered from his earlobe. The classy clothes, his insouciance, were elements of his polished veneer, which gave no indication of the unconscionable criminal behind them. He’d been arrested and brought before the grand jury on numerous charges that included several murders, one arson, and various lesser felonies, most of which were related to drug trafficking. But over the course of his long and illustrious career, h...

Product details

• Authors: Sandra Brown
• Publisher: Simon + Schuster Inc.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2009
• EAN: 9781416523321
• ISBN: 978-1-4165-2332-1
• No. of pages: 515
• Dimensions: 107 mm x 192 mm x 30 mm
• Weight: 331 g
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense > Crime fiction, thrillers, espionage