Джеймс Паттерсон - Lost

I stared at the tattoos going up his neck and could have sworn he had another bud on the end of the tattooed vine that spread onto his cheek.

I said, “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

He growled, “Tibor.”

“Right, sorry. So, asshole, want to get out of my way? I have business with your boss. Official business.”

“And it’s my business to keep my employer safe,” Tibor said.

“‘Fortune truly helps those who are of good judgment.’”

“What?” He screwed up his face in a way that made me smile.

“A man named Euripides said that about four hundred years before Christ was born, and yet it applies to you tonight. Use good judgment and step out of the way.”

“Or else what?”

“My cold-blooded partner will deal with you.” I liked the look on his face as Steph came up and put the stun gun on his bare neck.

I said, “Move, and she zaps you with thirty thousand volts.” I stood and enjoyed his silence. I needed to enjoy more things in life. This was a good start.

I stepped around him as Steph ordered him to lie on the ground. She took the gun from his holster.

I strutted right across the stage in front of everyone. Roman Rostoff was forced to stop midsentence. He stared at me. I enjoyed the way he looked past me to see how I’d gotten by his bodyguard.

I gave him a smile and a wink as I joined him at the podium and patted him on the back like I was proud of him. The people in the audience had no idea what was going on. They just stared at the big guy who couldn’t afford a designer suit.

I handed the sheaf of papers to Rostoff.

He looked at me and muttered, “What?”

I made sure to speak clearly so that the microphone would pick up everything. “This is a federal subpoena for records related to all of your businesses and bank accounts.” I stood for a moment while he just held the papers and stared at me. “For a change, there are plenty of witnesses to the service of this subpoena. The subpoena requires you to personally appear at the FBI office with the records requested.”

Everyone in the entire room was silent. Including Rostoff.

I leaned into the microphone and said, “That’s right. Your Humanitarian of the Year is being investigated for money laundering, human trafficking, and his role in the shootout on Miami Beach last week. Also for about a thousand business violations relating to tax fraud and licensing issues.” I let that hang in the silent room for about five seconds, then said, “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

I stepped off the stage and headed toward the exit. Stephanie Hall joined me, allowing Tibor, the bodyguard, to stand up. She dropped his pistol in a garbage can as we walked out the door.

Yeah, I was going to enjoy that one for a very long time.

Epilogue

Amsterdam

JANINE, ONE OF Hanna Greete’s former assistants, sat at a desk in a small office in Amsterdam. The cramped office in a warehouse wasn’t nearly as nice as the apartment they’d worked out of when Hanna was in charge. But Hanna was in jail in the United States now, and Albert was dead.

Janine had made the most of the opportunity. She knew all of Hanna’s contacts. She and her sister, Tasi, simply moved to Oostpoort, away from the city center and tourists. Janine had kept the business going, albeit on a much smaller scale. But if she kept expenses down and only had to worry about Tasi and herself, she could make a fine living.

She doubted the police paid much attention to small operations like hers. And that detective with the national police, Marie Meijer, was probably so happy to have caught Hanna that she’d taken a vacation.

Since Janine had passed so much information on to Marie, the police had dropped fraud charges against her after she’d been arrested in Zaadam. Janine’s information had led to Hanna’s arrest. Now she was taking over Hanna’s former life.

Sitting in the small office still made Janine feel like a queen. She answered her ringing phone and heard the voice of Bertram Hellot; he owned an apartment building that housed girls she was planning to move to the U.S. He told her that one of the girls had gone out and not come back. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

Janine didn’t mince words. “Find that girl by tonight or I’ll have Max cut off your balls and I’ll wear them as a necklace. Is that understood?”

“Yes. I’m looking for her right now.”

Janine smiled at the former gang member’s frantic tone. As it turned out, she had learned a lot more from Hanna than she had realized. Now she understood why Hanna had enjoyed bossing people around.

A knock on the thick wooden door startled her. No doubt the landlord looking for rent, as it was the beginning of the month. Sometimes, when she was short on cash, Janine would send her sister to answer the door. Tasi would flirt with the landlord to distract him. Tasi was there in the office, but today Janine had the cash.

She opened the door with a smile. It faded instantly when she saw Marie Meijer standing there with four uniformed police officers.

The detective with the national police nudged Janine back and barged into the office.

Marie said, “Did you really think the information you gave me on Hanna’s operation granted you immunity for all crimes? Even after we dropped your cheap check-fraud charge?”

Janine said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Marie smiled. Her drooping eyelid lifted up ever so slightly. “That sounds convincing, except that we found your safe house in Diemen. Bertram Hellot has been working with us.”

Janine said, “But I helped you!”

Marie said, “To avoid jail. I never agreed to let you ruin more lives by continuing to traffic in people.”

Janine thought about that, then said, “What do you want?”

“Do you know Emile Rostoff?”

“No. Not personally.”

Marie nodded. “Too bad. That was your only chance.” She turned to a uniformed officer and said, “Take them both.”

Janine started to cry as she and Tasi were handcuffed and led out of the office.

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About the Authors

JAMES PATTERSON is the world’s bestselling author and most trusted storyteller. He has created many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, and I Funny. Among his notable literary collaborations are The President Is Missing, with President Bill Clinton, and the Max Einstein series, produced in partnership with the Albert Einstein estate. Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s given over three million books to schoolkids and the military, donated more than seventy million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. The National Book Foundation recently presented Patterson with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, and he is also the recipient of an Edgar Award and six Emmy Awards. He lives in Florida with his family.

JAMES O. BORN is an award-winning crime and science-fiction novelist as well as a career law enforcement agent. A native Floridian, he still lives in the Sunshine State.

Detective Michael Bennett's facing the most high-stakes case of his career—saving his son's life.

Turn the page for an excerpt from Blindside.

I DID EVERYTHING I could to distract Lucille Evans from noticing the bloody footprint. A responding patrol officer had tracked the blood into the hallway. One look at the scene inside and the veteran needed to run into the street. I didn’t blame him one bit.