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  PRAISE FOR THE SENSATIONAL

  NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS OF

  LINDA HOWARD

  MR. PERFECT

  “[A] clever ending…. MR. PERFECT really scores.”

  —New York Post

  “There is nothing quite like a sexy and suspenseful story by the amazing Linda Howard! The sparring relationship between Sam and Jaine is a delight. MR. PERFECT is funny, exciting, gripping, and sensuous—in fact it ranks as one of her all-time best!”

  —Romantic Times

  ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN

  “A high-suspense romance…. Howard’s trademark darkly sensual style and intense, layered plot will delight her fans.”

  —Booklist

  “Ms. Howard has made the character [of John Medina] irresistible…. A fascinating novel of suspense and sensual tension.”

  —Rendezvous

  “Heart-pounding sensuality and gripping tension made it impossible to put this page-turner down until the very end…. John Medina is quite a hero.”

  —Old Book Barn Gazette

  “[A] sexy thriller…. Another explosive hit…. When it comes to mixing that perfect blend of romance and danger, Ms. Howard is unbeatable!”

  —Romantic Times

  “First introduced in Kill and Tell, agent John Medina is as intriguing as the perilous world he operates in. Watching him in action, à la James Bond, is exhilarating—as is the single-minded intensity of his feelings for Niema…. Throw in a couple of chilling chase scenes, some romantic interludes hot enough to peel paint from the walls, and one or two bigger-than-life, internationally connected characters, and you’ve got a romantic thriller that’s sure to be … a bestseller.”

  —Amazon.com

  NOW YOU SEE HER

  “Steamy romance morphs into murder mystery….”

  —People

  “An eerie, passionate, and thrilling tale of murder and the paranormal…. Now You See Her is bound to catapult the phenomenal Linda Howard to a whole new level.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Sensual, page-turning…. Linda Howard brings psychic phenomena, hot sex, and deadly danger into the life of an appealing young artist…. Howard keeps the suspense streamlined and straightforward.”

  —Amazon.com

  KILL AND TELL

  “Linda Howard meshes hot sex, emotional impact, and gripping tension in this perfect example of what romantic suspense ought to be.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “A riveting masterpiece of suspense. Linda Howard is a superbly original storyteller.”

  —Iris Johansen, New York Times bestselling author of And Then You Die

  “An explosive conclusion to a clever, smoothly crafted tale of adventure, romance, and intrigue.”

  —Lansing State Journal (MI)

  SON OF THE MORNING

  “Linda Howard offers a romantic time-travel thriller with a fascinating premise…. Gripping passages and steamy sex.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A complex tale that’s rich with detail, powerful characters and stunning sensuality. This is a story you won’t be able to put down until you reach the explosive conclusion. It’s no wonder that Linda Howard is the best of the best.”

  —CompuServe Romance Reviews

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents 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.

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 2000 by Linda Howington

  Originally published in hardcover in 2000 by Pocket Books

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN: 1-4165-0373-0

  This Pocket Books trade paperback edition August 2004 10 98765432

  POCKET and colophon are registered trade marks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  978-1-4516-6462-1(ebook)

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Many thanks to Sgt. Henry Piechowski of the Warren, Michigan, Police Department, for patiently and cheerfully answering all of my questions. He took my phone calls, gave me his time, and did his best to make sure I got it right. Any errors are strictly mine. Thanks, Sergeant.

  Mr. Perfect

  prologue

  Denver, 1975

  This is ridiculous!” Clutching her purse so tightly her knuckles were white, the woman glared across the desk at the school principal. “He said he didn’t touch the hamster, and my child doesn’t lie. The very idea!”

  J. Clarence Cosgrove had been principal of Ellington Middle School for six years, and a teacher for twenty years before that. He was accustomed to dealing with irate parents, but the tall, thin woman seated before him and the child sitting so sedately beside her, unnerved him. He hated to use the vernacular, but they were weird. Though he knew it was a wasted effort, he tried to reason with her. “There was a witness—”

  “Mrs. Whitcomb put him up to saying that. Corin would never, never have hurt that hamster, would you, darling?”

  “No, Mother.” The voice was almost unearthly sweet, but the child’s eyes were cold and unblinking as they stared at Mr. Cosgrove, as if weighing the denial’s effect on him.

  “See, I told you so!” the woman cried triumphantly.

  Mr. Cosgrove tried again. “Mrs. Whitcomb—”

  “—has disliked Corin from the first day of school. She’s the one you need to be interrogating, not my child.” The woman’s lips were thin with fury. “I spoke with her two weeks ago about the filth she was putting in the children’s heads, and told her that while I couldn’t control what she told the other children, I absolutely would not have her speaking about”—she darted a glance at Corin—“s-e-x to my child. That’s why she’s done this.”

  “Mrs. Whitcomb has an excellent record as a teacher. She wouldn’t—”

  “She has! Don’t tell me what that woman won’t do when she obviously has! Why, I wouldn’t put it beyond her to have killed the hamster herself!”

  “The hamster was her personal pet, which she brought to school to teach the children about—”

  “She could still have killed it. Good God, it was just a