Catherine Coulter - Point Blank

A dizzying dash involving kidnapping, near-misses, murder, and a manhunt. Her readers are guaranteed a happy ending.

The Sacramento Bee

Full-blown intrigueCoulter deftly orchestrates her fast-paced, intricate story threads and the disparate cases challenging her agents with a concertmasters touch.

BookPage

Love in all its forms, some of which can be quite twisted, lies at the heart of this stimulating and gritty new thriller. Coulters FBI books have their own special style which, when added to the spine-tingling suspense, supplies edge-of-your-seat thrills.

Romantic Times

Brilliant and enthrallingFans of Tami Hoag, Iris Johansen, and Kay Hooper will want to read Catherine Coulters latest suspense thrillerMs. Coulter once again delivers a work brimming with action, chase scenes, and terrific characterizations.

The Best Reviews

I just got through reading Point Blank. Great book. The two plots were classic Coulter style, which I love. The way you throw the readers right into the thick of the action is so captivating and thrilling. Congratulations on the book.

Lee Shackelford

I have just finished Point BlankWhat a lovely attention-grabber that one wasSuch a tricky way to track the evil ones. You do good, and I love every one of your FBI series.

Marie Kahler

Well, you did it again! You knocked my socks off with another great mystery, Point Blank.

Joe Nicolo

Youve done it once again. I didnt get anything done because I picked up [Point Blank] first thing in the morning, and by bedtime it was finished. My husband almost didnt get any dinner. He asked, Is that book really that good? Yes, it was.

Carol Henson

You did it again! Another great novel! I love the FBI series and all the characters. Keep up the good work. Your novels are great!

Joyce Hemminger

I just bought Point Blank yesterday and finished it this morning. All I have to say is that it was the best out of all the FBI series. I have read almost all of your books. It was so suspenseful that I had a hard time putting it down to go to sleep at three in the morning. I love Savich and Sherlock together; they make a great team, and I hope they are in more books in this series because I really enjoy them. Once again, incredible book.

Francean Baxter

Well, just this morning I finished reading Point Blank. You did a great job on that book. My thinking is that you are truly amazing. I look forward to whatever is next. Thank you.

Ernie Dalleske

All I can say is WOW!!! Point Blank is one of your best! The first chapter was so graphic and well written I felt claustrophobic as Ruth walked through the cave and I groped through the darkness myself. A wonderful story and a great read! Thanks again!

Laurie McGrath

Oh, it was the best!You kept me going, Ms. Coulter, you really did. Keep writing.

Aimee Sordelli

DONT MISS CATHERINE COULTERS FBI THRILLER

SERIES

THE COVE (1996)

THE MAZE (1997)

THE TARGET (1998)

THE EDGE (1999)

RIPTIDE (2000)

HEMLOCK BAY (2001)

ELEVENTH HOUR (2002)

BLINDSIDE (2003

BLOWOUT (2004)

POINT BLANK (2005)

POINT BLANK

CATHERINE COULTER

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

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 India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr. Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

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 authors 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.

A Jove Book / published by arrangement with the author

Copyright 2005 by Catherine Coulter.

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 authors 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: 0-7865-8044-5

JOVE

Jove Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,375

Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.JOVE is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.The J design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc. To Anton Weve got a winner here. Thank you for being who and what you are, and thank you for being mine.

POINT BLANK

Contents

CHAPTER 1

WINKELS CAVE MAESTRO, VIRGINIAFRIDAY AFTERNOON

RUTH WARNECKI PAUSED to consult her map, even though shed read it so many times it was worn and stained from use, with a smear of strawberry jam on one corner. Okay, shed walked and crawled down this twisting passage exactly the 46.2 feet indicated on the map. Shed measured it carefully, just as shed measured all the distances since she climbed down into that first offshoot passage at the end of the caverns entrance. A narrow and twisty passage, smelling strongly of bat guano, some lengths of it so low shed had to crab-walk, it had finally flattened out. So far the distances had matched those on her map to the centimeter.

At this point, there should have been a small arched opening directly to her right. She focused her head lamp some eight feet up to the top of the cave wall then slowly scanned downward. She didnt see an arch or any sign thered ever been one. She went over the directions again to this point, rechecked the distances, but no, she hadnt screwed that up. Again, she shone her head lamp on the cave wall, moved back and forth at least three feet in both directions. Nothing. She was in the right spot, she knew it. Ruth rarely cursed when she was frustrated. She hummed instead. And so she hummed as she began to glide the palms of her hands slowly over the wall, pushing inward here and there. The wall was limestone, dry to the touch, eons of sand filming over it. Nothing but a solid cave wall. She was disappointed, but she knew that was a fact of life for a treasure hunter. Her old uncle, Tobin Jones, a treasure hunter for fifty years, and something of a mentor to her, had told her that for every authentic treasure map, there are more fraudulent ones than illegal aliens in California. Of course that was because every fraudulent map was a treasure in itself if it sucked in the right mark. Problem is, Tobin had said with a shake of his head, were all suckers. But that, hed always believed, was better than those idiots traipsing over an empty ballpark or a beach with their metal detectors, looking for nickels. Actually, she used metal detectors, had a portable one attached to her belt along with two more flashlights. Yes, she understood all about fake treasure maps, but shed really been excited about this one. All her research had led her to believe it could be the real deal. Even the age of the paper, the ink, and the manner of writing tested outabout 150 years old.