The Wrong Girl (46 page)
“Leonard Perl,” Jane said. “What a complete slime. Stealing kids and selling them. Using Maggie. Profiting from desperation.”
“Yup. There the DA’s going for the max. Even though Perl ratted out poor Finn, who is now a very unhappy camper. It
was
him who was tailgating you, Jane.”
“Yeah, I figured that.”
“And turns out fricking Hennessey set up Perl as your surveillance guy. Jerk.”
Jane took another sip of wine, remembering. “Happy to hear he’s toast,” she said. “But Jake?”
“Yeah?
“Remember in the elevator? At Maggie Gunnison’s that day?”
“Sure.”
“When you got into the elevator, you acted like—” Jane demonstrated with her thumbs. “Were you saying ‘text me’?”
“Yeah. I was.”
“I did, you know, but you never answered.”
“I was a little busy.” Jake took a swig of beer. “I wondered if you’d remember.”
“Well?” Jane said. “I do. What was it about?”
Silence.
“Jake?”
“I was thinking about … going undercover,” he said. “You and me. Someplace where no one knows us. Somewhere we don’t have to hide. Just … hang out. Be together. See what happens.”
Jane looked into the red of her wine, not sure whether to laugh, or cry. Or both.
“You
know
what’ll happen,” Jane said.
“Yup,” Jake said. “I do.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hank Phillippi Ryan is the investigative reporter for Boston’s NBC affiliate. She has won twenty-eight Emmys and ten Edward R. Murrow Awards for her groundbreaking journalism. The bestselling author of four mystery novels as well as
The Other Woman
, the first book to feature reporter Jane Ryland and Detective Jake Brogan, Ryan has won two Agatha Awards, as well as the Anthony and Macavity. She is on the national board of directors of Mystery Writers of America and is 2013 president of national Sisters in Crime. Visit her on the Web at
www.HankPhillippiRyan.com
.
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.
THE WRONG GIRL
Copyright © 2013 by Hank Phillippi Ryan
All rights reserved.
Cover photograph © Andy and Michelle Kerry/Trevillion Images
Cover design by Seth Lerner
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
New York, NY 10010
Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3258-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-46680087-8 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466800878
First Edition: September 2013
