The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Three Women Disappear copyright © 2020 by James Patterson Come and Get Us copyright © 2016 by James Patterson Cover photograph by Plainpicture / André Schuster Cover copyright © 2020 by Hachette Book Group Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. 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ISBN 978-0-316-54162-6 E3-20200924-DA-ORI Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Prologue One: Detective Sean Walsh Two Part I Chapter 1: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4: Detective Sean Walsh Chapter 5: Anna Costello Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8: Detective Sean Walsh Chapter 9: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14: Detective Sean Walsh Chapter 15: Anna Costello Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18: Detective Sean Walsh Chapter 19: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22: Detective Sean Walsh Chapter 23 Chapter 24: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27: Detective Sean Walsh Chapter 28 Chapter 29: Serena Flores Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33: Detective Sean Walsh Part II Chapter 34: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 35: Anna Costello Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38: Detective Sean Walsh Chapter 39: Anna Costello Part III Chapter 40: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 41: Anna Costello Chapter 42: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 43: Serena Flores Chapter 44: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 45: Anna Costello Chapter 46: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 47: Serena Flores Chapter 48: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 49: Anna Costello Chapter 50: Sarah Roberts-Walsh Chapter 51 Epilogue: Michelle Brown Come and Get Us Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Epilogue Discover More About the Authors Coming Soon What’s coming next from James Patterson? Get on the list to find out about coming titles, deals, contests, appearances, and more! The official James Patterson newsletter. Prologue OneDetective Sean Walsh “LET’S KILL him again in slow motion,” I said. I took a coffee cup from the sink, started the faucet running. “Assume for a second that it was a female killer,” I began. “I’m Anthony Costello, accountant to the mob, nephew of top dog Vincent Costello. It’s early in the morning, and either the help’s asleep or they haven’t arrived yet. I’m probably ticked off at having to do my own dishes.” “As ticked off as I am right now?” Detective Heidi Haagen asked. I ignored her. This was my wife we were talking about. I wasn’t going to let the department pin a murder on her—especially not when it was me who sent her to work for Costello in the first place. “The lady assassin approaches me from behind,” I continued, “as I’m rinsing my mug. I’ve got the water running full throttle because I’m Anthony Costello and I never do anything halfway. The sound makes for nice cover. Lady Assassin tiptoes up behind me and plunges a big old kitchen knife deep into my left shoulder. Probably she’s aiming for my neck or spine, but she’s no pro—that’s obvious from the mess she left behind. Her hands are sweating, and she closes her eyes at the last second.” “We’ve been over this,” Heidi said. Heidi, my onetime partner, now boss. She was the one who shut me out of this case. Now I was trying to claw my way back in. “I know,” I said. “I know we have, but bear with me. Costello’s a big guy. About my height, but a hundred pounds heavier. That first blow brought him down, but it didn’t kill him.” I spun away from the sink, dropped to my hands and knees. Heidi rolled her eyes. “Lady Assassin sidesteps, gets me in the center of my back, but not as deep this time. I drop to my belly and start crawling, trying to get away, maybe headed for the living room, where I keep that Glock stashed in the coffee table drawer.” I pulled myself forward on the tile mosaic floor, grunting and grimacing, playing the part. “This isn’t necessary,” Heidi said. But it was. I had to make her understand—Sarah wasn’t capable of killing Anthony Costello. “She keeps coming at me, again and again, but she’s out of breath, losing force. These are just puncture wounds she’s inflicting now. I’m Anthony Costello. I’m not going to be done in by my own chef in my own kitchen. So I reach for a chair and pull myself up. Maybe I manage a threat: ‘It’s my turn now’ or ‘You’re a dead woman’—some stock phrase to make her tremble. I start toward her, then stumble, brace myself against the sink. And now it’s me who’s scared, because I’m looking at her eyes, and it’s clear a switch has flipped. She charges, stabbing wildly. I shield my face with my forearms. The blade finds my gut, my ribs, my thighs. And then she lines up for the kill shot, the tip of the knife pointed at my sternum. In a final burst of energy, I hurl myself out of the way, then stagger and drop. Her final thrust hits the countertop. Here.” I pointed dramatically to a deep gouge in the polished oak. Heidi yawned. “Sean,” she said, “Sunday mornings are sacred. I told you when you called that you’d better have something—” “Solid and irrefutable, I know.” I went over to the knife block and found
