J. A. Jance - Sins of the Fathers

J. P. Beaumont Mysteries

Until Proven Guilty

Injustice for All

Trial by Fury

Taking the Fifth

Improbable Cause

A More Perfect Union

Dismissed with Prejudice

Minor in Possession

Payment in Kind

Without Due Process

Failure to Appear

Lying in Wait

Name Withheld

Breach of Duty

Birds of Prey

Partner in Crime

Long Time Gone

Justice Denied

Fire and Ice

Betrayal of Trust

Ring in the Dead: A J. P. Beaumont Novella

Second Watch

Stand Down: A J. P. Beaumont Novella

Dance of the Bones: A J. P. Beaumont

and Brandon Walker Novel

Still Dead: A J. P. Beaumont Novella

Proof of Life

Sins of the Fathers

Joanna Brady Mysteries

Desert Heat

Tombstone Courage

Shoot/Dont Shoot

Dead to Rights

Skeleton Canyon

Rattlesnake Crossing

Outlaw Mountain

Devils Claw

Paradise Lost

Partner in Crime

Exit Wounds

Dead Wrong

Damage Control

Fire and Ice

Judgment Call

The Old Blue Line: A Joanna Brady Novella

Remains of Innocence

Random Acts: A Joanna Brady and Ali Reynolds Novella

Downfall

Field of Bones

Walker Family Novels

Hour of the Hunter

Kiss of the Bees

Day of the Dead

Queen of the Night

Dance of the Bones: A J. P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker Novel

Ali Reynolds Novels

Edge of Evil

Web of Evil

Hand of Evil

Cruel Intent

Trial by Fire

Fatal Error

Left for Dead

Deadly Stakes

Moving Target

A Last Goodbye: An Ali Reynolds Novella

Cold Betrayal

No Honor Among Thieves: An Ali Reynolds/Joanna Brady Novella

Clawback

Man Overboard

Duel to the Death

The A List

Poetry

After the Fire

J. A. JANCE is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, and five interrelated thrillers about the Walker Family, as well as a volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

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JAJance.com

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BY THE TIME I BROUGHT COFFEE INTO THE LIVING ROOM, Alan had removed the babys outer layer of pink blankets. I took a look inside the carrier as I set the cup down on a side table. I dont know much about babies at the moment. Im sure Ill know a lot more three months from now when my new grandson is expected to arrive on the scene. In the meantime it occurred to me that the baby in my living room appeared to be very new. So what was Alan Dale doing driving solo up and down the I-5 corridor with a newborn infant in tow?

Whats her name again? I asked as I sat down. And how old is she?

Athena, he answered, Athena Marie, and shes six weeks oldsix weeks tomorrow. She just got out of Childrens Hospital yesterday.

The natural follow-up question would have been Wheres her mommy? but somethingsome newfound restraint that never used to be part of my conversational makeupkept me from going there.

Hows Jasmine these days? I asked instead.

He shook his head miserably, looking as distraught as anyone Id ever seen. I lost her, he said simply.

The word lost, used in that context, generally means one of two things. Either Jasmine had done Alan wrong and had taken off on him or else she had died. The utter defeat and desolation in his demeanor hinted at the latter.

What happened? I asked.

Hep C, he said bleakly.

And that said it all. Hepatitis C, an often-fatal liver infection, can be contracted any number of ways, including by reusing dirty needles, but it can also come about due to serious drinking. Ive been sober for years now, but there was plenty of serious drinking in my past. When they started advertising that new hep C treatment on TV a couple of years ago, I went to see my doc and got testedan ounce of prevention, as Mel had called it. When I came up clear, we both felt as though wed dodged a bullet. I knew that Jasmine Day had been deep into drugs back in the late seventies, a time when things like HIV and hep C werent even a blip on the radar for most people. I hadnt a doubt in the world that shed been an IV drug user back then and that hep C had been lying in wait, ready to spring on her, years and years after she quit using.

When? I asked.

A little over ten years ago, he said.

There are medications for that now, I offered.

He nodded. I know. They were coming then, too, but by the time Jasmine tried to get in to one of the human trials, it was already too late for her. She was sick for a long time, in and out of the hospital. No insurance, of course, so we ended up losing pretty much everything, including the house. If it hadnt been for Jasmines mom, I would have been up shit creek.

Im so sorry to hear about this, I said. But whats the deal here, Alan? Why do you need a PI?

Its about my daughter, he told me, Jasmines and my daughter. Her name is NaomiNaomi Louise Dale.

Knowing that hep C can be transmitted from mother to child, I hated asking the next question, but I did it anyway. What about Naomi? I asked. Does she have hep C, too?

Alan shrugged and slumped in his chair. Maybe, he said darkly, and then, after a pause, he added, Make that probably. She might have inherited it from her mother, but shes also been into drugs big time for years, so she could very well have contracted it on her own. At the time Jasmine was diagnosed, we tried to encourage Naomi to get tested, but by then she wasnt listening to a word we said. I doubt she took our advice.

I take it Naomi is Athenas mother?

Alan nodded, and his reply made me wonder, if that was the case, why was baby Athena riding all over hell and gone with Alan rather than with her mother? And if Naomi had come down with hepatitis C...

If Naomi has hep C, I asked, what about Athena?

I worried about that, too, Alan admitted. Given the family history, I asked Athenas doc at Childrens to test her. He says shes clear.

Thank God for that, I murmured. So whats the story, then, Alan? Why exactly did you come looking for me?

Naomis gone missing, he answered. Im hoping you can find her.

She went missing somewhere around here?

Yes, he said. She disappeared in Seattle.

Tell me what happened.

When Naomi was admitted to Harborview in late January to have the baby, she listed her grandmother, Helen Gibbons, as her next of kin.

Helen is Jasmines mother?

Alan nodded. Yes, he said. Helen is my mother-in-law. After Naomi disappeared, the hospital called Helen, and she called me.