Deadly Sins

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

“A superb investigative mystery . . . A strong thriller.”

—
Midwest Book Review

 

 

“Get ready for lots of twists and turns with an abundance of suspense in this thrilling romance.”

—
Fresh Fiction

“Once again Kylie Brant kept me awake until three in the morning to finish her book . . . A really impressive series. She reminds me of a few great writers. If you love Kay Hooper’s writing, you will love Ms. Brant’s writing, too.”

—
A Romance Review

“If you have been reading this Mindhunters series, you will not want to miss out on this next installment . . . I recommend reading them all from the beginning!”

—
Fallen Angel Reviews

“An electrifying and infinitely gripping novel . . . Kylie writes excellent dialogue [and] creates engaging characters [and] vividly detailed investigation and action scenes.”

—
The Romance Studio

“Terrific.”

—
Midwest Book Review

“Provided a thrill and plenty of romance and forensicsbased action!”

—
Errant Dreams Reviews

“I loved the blend of police work and romance that this series brings . . . Packed full of action, mystery, and romance and left me excitedly looking forward to the next book in the Mindhunters series!”

—
TwoLips Reviews

 

 

“Enjoyable . . . A superb police procedural . . . enhanced by the supernatural and the romance.”

—
Midwest Book Review

“Wonderful characters and mystery . . . Brant does a great job with pacing and tension!”

—
Errant Dreams Reviews

 

“A totally engrossing read.”

—
The Romance Studio

 

“[An] exceedingly suspenseful series . . . The exceptional writing of Kylie Brant will keep you reading way into the night. From first-rate suspense . . . While the dangerous scenarios of
Waking Evil
draw you into the novel, the tender love story is just as compelling.”

—
Single Titles

 

“Intense paranormal elements, gripping suspense, and graphic descriptions make for a realistic read.”

—
Fresh Fiction

 

“Ms. Brant combined romantic suspense with a touch of the paranormal that really intrigued this reader from page one.”

—
The Romance Readers Connection

 

 

“Intelligent, gripping suspense with both chill and sizzle.
Waking Nightmare
will leave you awake in the night . . . and wanting more.”

—Cindy Gerard,
New York Times
bestselling author

 

“The writing is vivid and strong . . . Suspense fans will love the unexpected twist and pulse-pounding climax.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Wonderful psych material, great characters, interesting mystery . . . There’s plenty of tension and great pacing to the suspense.”

—
Errant Dreams Reviews

 

“The first sentence will intrigue you and the next one causes chills. By the third sentence, you will be completely hooked on
Waking Nightmare
.”

—
Single Titles

 

“Thrilling . . . A great opening act.”

—
Midwest Book Review

 

“Brant and romantic suspense are a dynamite duo!”

—
RT Book Reviews

 

WAKING NIGHTMARE
WAKING EVIL
WAKING THE DEAD
DEADLY INTENT
DEADLY DREAMS
DEADLY SINS

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

DEADLY SINS

 

A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / August 2011

Copyright © 2011 by Kim Bahnsen.

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

 

ISBN : 978-1-101-51722-2

 

BERKLEY
^®
SENSATION

Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY
^®
SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

For my newest granddaughter, Harper Sophia,
with love and anticipation—looking forward
to tea parties, dress up, and shopping trips!

A great deal of research goes into my books and I always reach out to experts for help. A big thank-you is owed to Kathleen Hartnett for your fascinating details regarding the duties of Supreme Court clerks. A specialist in the Office of Public Affairs of the FBI Washington Field Office offered insight into FBI’s Evidence Response Team and answered questions on some procedural details—you know who you are! The generous assistance I received from both of you left me seriously questioning where I was during Career Day at school.

 

Joe Collins is my go-to guy for weapons questions, and he came through again when it came to researching my sniper’s weapon and how he’d set up his shoot. As always, thanks for the input! Mark Lohrum, Purdue University Cyber Forensics graduate student, provided the cell phone spyware expertise, which scared me away from ever opening links on my phone.

 

Washington, DC, and the surrounding area is one of the loveliest in the country. Although I’ve made several visits, I needed frequent assistance regarding neighborhoods, routes, distances, etc. I’m grateful to Jeff Welter, longtime resident of the area, for filling in the gaps in my geographical knowledge and proving at long last that he’s more than merely a pretty face ☺.

 

As usual, any inaccuracies that occur in the story are solely the responsibility of the author.

Despite what it said in the Old Testament, death was rarely the result of divine intervention. Often nature could be blamed. More frequently another person was the cause. On that drizzly gray evening in early November, nature had an alibi.

If Supreme Court Justice Byron Reinbeck had known what fate had in store for him that day, he’d have spent less time writing the scathing dissenting opinion on
Clayborne vs. Leland
. Which in turn would have had him leaving his chambers at a decent hour. That would have negated the need to stop at his favorite sidewalk vendor for flowers to take to Mary Jo, his wife of twenty-five years. She was having a dinner party that evening, and he was running unforgivably late.

But not being blessed with psychic powers, he pulled over at the sidewalk in question. Danny Shelton was there, rain or shine, until the snow started flying. And he never folded up shop until he’d sold his entire inventory.

“Mr. Reinbeck, good to see you.” A smile put another crease in Danny’s grizzled, well-worn face. A three-sided awning protected him and his wares. A small propane heater was tucked in the corner of it. “When you called, I put ’em back special. I got just the thing.” He sprang up from his battered lawn chair with a surprising spryness.

Byron turned up the collar of his overcoat, belatedly remembered the umbrella in the backseat. Hunching his shoulders a bit, he pretended to contemplate the bouquet of yellow roses thrust out for his approval. He suspected Danny stocked them daily, on the off chance that Byron would stop.

Yellow roses were Mary Jo’s favorite.

He reached for his wallet. “You’re a lifesaver, Danny.”

The other man’s cackle sounded over the crinkle of the wrapping paper he was fixing around the bundle. “You gots to be in big trouble for these flowers not to do the trick.”

A quick glance at his watch told Byron that he was only a handful of minutes away from “big trouble.” He withdrew a couple bills, intending to leave without waiting for change.

He didn’t have a chance to turn around before the sharp
crack
of the rifle sounded behind him. But he saw the splash of crimson on the front of Danny’s stained brown hoodie. A second later pain and shock paralyzed Byron’s system before he pitched forward, his lifeless body crushing the fragrant long-stemmed beauties against the makeshift plywood table.

Adam Raiker rapped softly at the door of the library. Although there were three occupants in the room, only one voice bade him to enter.

Because it was the one that counted, he eased the door open, his gaze going immediately to Mary Jo Waverly-Reinbeck. “Everyone’s gone.”

Even grief stricken as she was, there was no mistaking the command of the woman. The red sheathe she wore accentuated her pale blond hair and ice blue eyes. She was brilliant and witty, and had been known to dismantle a seasoned defense attorney with a few well-chosen lines. But it was her devotion to one of Adam’s closest friends that had endeared her to him.