John T. Lescroart - Son of Holmes

Table of Contents

Praise for the novels of John Lescroart

The Oath

A People Page -Turner

A particularly strong plot. Los Angeles Times

Topical and full of intrigue. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Gripping, timely, and extremely satisfying. Booklist

Lescroart skillfully balances his story, blending the action of
the plot with the satisfying details of Hardys and Glitskys
personal lives. The minutiae of marriages, children, and domestic
routines not only round out the characters but provide
a smart counterpoint to the cops-and-lawyer stuff. And
unlike so many other authors, Lescroart handles social commentary
with a deft touch. The Cleveland Plain Dealer

The Hearing

A spine-tingling legal thriller.Larry King, USA Today

Highly entertaining. Chicago Tribune

Excellent stuff. San Jose Mercury News continued...

Nothing but the Truth

The novels pacing is reminiscent of classic Ross MacDonald, where a weeks worth of events is condensed into a few hours... a winning thriller. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Riveting... one of Lescroarts best tales yet. Chicago Tribune

A rousing courtroom showdown. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The Mercy Rule

A thought-provoking and important novel.... Well written, well plotted, well done.Nelson DeMille

Readers of The 13th Juror will already be off reading this book, not this review. Join them. The Philadelphia Inquirer

Guilt

Begin Guilt over a weekend.... If you start during the workweek, you will be up very, very late, and your pleasure will be tainted with, well, guilt. The Philadelphia Inquirer

A well-paced legal thriller... one of the best in this flourishing genre to come along in a while. The Washington Post Book World

A Certain Justice

Lescroart swings for the fences with a West Coast take on The Bonfire of the Vanities ... a richly satisfying thriller. Kirkus Reviews

The 13th Juror

Fast-paced... sustains interest to the very end. The Wall Street Journal

Hard Evidence

A hefty, engrossing legal thriller... compulsively readable, a dense and involving saga of big-city crime and punishment. San Francisco Chronicle

ALSO BY JOHN LESCROART

Betrayal
The Suspect
The Motive
The Second Chair
The Hunt Club
The First Law
The Oath
Nothing but the Truth
The Mercy Rule
Guilt

A Certain Justice
The 13th Juror
Hard Evidence
The Vig
Dead Irish
Rasputins Revenge
Son of Holmes
Sunburn

New American Library
Published by New American Library, a division of
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.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2,
Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632,
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

First New American Library Printing, September 2003

Copyright John T. Lescroart, 1986 All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARKMARCA REGISTRADA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Set in Bembo

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHERS NOTE

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 Web sites or their content.

eISBN : 978-1-101-11653-1

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

For Lisa

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or publisher.

PREFACE

A ll the events in this book are true, despite the disclaimer which you have just read if you read a book from cover to cover. A certain concession has been made so that living persons involved may not be subjected to inconvenience, scrutiny, or unwanted harassment. Nevertheless, no names have been changed, no places altered. The concession has been the disclaimer, which will convince most of the public that even this preface is fiction, though this is not the case.

PROLOGUE

T he Martha Hudson dinner had been set for the sixth of January. To followers of the Master, Sherlock Holmes, this date is as important a day as the year offers, for on January 6, Holmess birthday, his followers from all corners of the globe gather to celebrate his genius. On this date in 1983, I was invited to the Hudson dinner in Arlington, Massachusetts.

At the time, I was living in rather cramped quarters in Cambridge, and a free dinner meant much more to me than intellectual stimulation. I hadnt read many detective stories and knew little about them. However, Id naturally heard about Holmes and thought the night might prove interesting.

It was bitter cold and snowingthe wet, slushy snow of the citywhen I left my apartment wrapped in an old army coat. The suit I had borrowed for the affair was ill-fitting, and I waited in great discomfort for the bus out of Harvard Square. The ride to Arlington took nearly forty-five minutes, and I kept asking myself as I shivered if all this was worth a free meal.

For the past several months, I had been trying and failing to make my living as a songwriter in the Boston area. I had finally taken a clerical job to pay the bills, but after less than a month had given that up. I turned to giving piano lessons and within a few weeks had several pupils, their combined fees totaling about sixty dollars per week.

I met Mr. Kevin James in November during one of my pupils recitals. Hed been dragged along by the childs mother, together with a host of other poor souls, and had stood silently near the back door. As soon as the recital began, he slipped out, and I joined him.

Enjoying yourself? I asked.

He leaned languidly against the doorpost. You go to these affairs often?