James Patterson - Now You See Her

Copyright 2011 by James Patterson

Excerpt from Kill Me If You Can 2011 by James Patterson

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Little, Brown and Company

Hachette Book Group

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New York, NY 10017

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First eBook Edition: June 2011

Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

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.

ISBN: 978-0-316-12723-3

A complete list of books by James Patterson is at the back of this book. For previews of upcoming books by James Patterson and more information about the author, visit www.JamesPatterson.com.

Cross FireI, Alex CrossAlex Crosss Trial (with Richard DiLallo) Cross CountryDouble CrossCrossMary, MaryLondon BridgesThe Big Bad WolfFour Blind MiceViolets Are BlueRoses Are RedPop Goes the WeaselCat & MouseJack & JillKiss the GirlsAlong Came a Spider

10th Anniversary (with Maxine Paetro) The 9th Judgment (with Maxine Paetro) The 8th Confession (with Maxine Paetro) 7th Heaven (with Maxine Paetro) The 6th Target (with Maxine Paetro) The 5th Horseman (with Maxine Paetro) 4th of July (with Maxine Paetro) 3rd Degree (with Andrew Gross) 2nd Chance (with Andrew Gross) 1st to Die

Tick Tock (with Michael Ledwidge) Worst Case (with Michael Ledwidge) Run for Your Life (with Michael Ledwidge) Step on a Crack (with Michael Ledwidge)

Now You See Her (with Michael Ledwidge) Toys (with Neil McMahon) Dont Blink (with Howard Roughan) The Postcard Killers (with Liza Marklund) Private (with Maxine Paetro) The Murder of King Tut (with Martin Dugard) Swimsuit (with Maxine Paetro) Against Medical Advice (with Hal Friedman) Sail (with Howard Roughan) Sundays at Tiffanys (with Gabrielle Charbonnet) Youve Been Warned (with Howard Roughan) The Quickie (with Michael Ledwidge) Judge & Jury (with Andrew Gross) Beach Road (with Peter de Jonge) Lifeguard (with Andrew Gross) Honeymoon (with Howard Roughan) Sams Letters to JenniferThe Lake HouseThe Jester (with Andrew Gross) The Beach House (with Peter de Jonge) Suzannes Diary for NicholasCradle and AllWhen the Wind BlowsMiracle on the 17th Green (with Peter de Jonge) Hide & SeekThe Midnight ClubBlack Friday (originally published as Black MarketSee How They Run (originally published as The Jericho Commandment) Season of the MacheteThe Thomas Berryman Number

Daniel X: The Manga, Vol. 2 (with SeungHui Kye) Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (with Chris Tebbets, illustrated by Laura Park) Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 4 (with NaRae Lee) ANGEL: A Maximum Ride NovelWitch & Wizard: The Gift (with Ned Rust) Daniel X: The Manga, Vol. 1 (with SeungHui Kye) Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 3 (with NaRae Lee) Daniel X: Demons and Druids (with Adam Sadler) Med Head (Against Medical Advice teen edition; with Hal Friedman) FANG: A Maximum Ride NovelWitch & Wizard (with Gabrielle Charbonnet) Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 2 (with NaRae Lee) Daniel X: Watch the Skies (with Ned Rust) MAX: A Maximum Ride NovelMaximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 1 (with NaRae Lee) Daniel X: Alien Hunter (graphic novel; with Leopoldo Gout) The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (with Michael Ledwidge) Maximum Ride: The Final WarningMaximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme SportsMaximum Ride: Schools OutForeverMaximum Ride: The Angel ExperimentsantaKid

For previews of upcoming books and more information about James Patterson, please visit his website or find him on Facebook or at your app store. www.JamesPatterson.com

For the Gilroys, Ledwiths, Murphys, and TighesM.L.

ID ALREADY TOSSED the driver a twenty and was bouncing up and down like a preschooler last in line for the potty when my taxi finally stopped across from the Hudson hotel on West 58th. I didnt wait for change, but I did nearly get clipped by an express bus as I got out on the street side and hightailed it across Eighth Avenue.

I didnt even look at my iPhone as it tried to buzz out of my jacket pocket. By this point, with my full workday and tonights party of all parties to plan, I was more surprised when it wasnt going off.

A sound, deafening even by midtown Manhattan standards, hammered into my ears as I made the corner.

Was it a jackhammer? A construction pile driver?

Of course not, I thought, as I spotted a black kid squatting on the sidewalk, playing drums on an empty Spackle bucket.

Luckily I also spotted my lunch appointment, Aidan Beck, at the edge of the crowded street performance.

Without preamble, I hooked elbows with the fair, scruffily handsome young man and pulled him into the chic Hudson. At the top of the neon-lit escalator, a concierge who looked like one of the happy, shiny cast members of High School Musical smiled from behind the Carrara marble check-in desk.

Hi. I called twenty minutes ago, I said. Im Mrs. Smith. This is Mr. Smith. Wed like a room with a large double bed. The floor or view doesnt matter. Im paying cash. Im really in a rush.

The clerk took in my sweating face and the contrast between my sexy office attire and my much younger companions faded jeans and suede jacket with seeming approval.

Lets get you to your room, then, the ber-happy concierge said without missing a beat.

A cold wind hit me as I came out of the hotel with Aidan an hour later. I looked up at the New York spring light glistening off the blue-tinged towers of the Time Warner Center down the block. I smiled as I remembered how my daughter, Emma, called it the worlds largest glass goalpost.

I looked at Aidan and wondered if what we just did was right. It didnt matter, did it? I thought as I dabbed my eyes with the sleeve of my knockoff Burberry jacket. It was done.

You were amazing. You really were, I said, handing him the envelope as I kissed his cheek.

He gave a theatrical little bow as he tucked the thousand into the inside pocket of his suede car coat.

Hey, its what I do, Nina Bloom, he said, walking off with a wave.

Its Mrs. Smith to you, I called as I hailed a taxi back to my job.

OK, MOM. You can open your eyes now.

I did.

My daughter, Emma, stood before me in our cozy Turtle Bay apartment in her sweet sixteen party dress. I took in her luminous skin and ebony hair above the sleeveless black silk and began to cry for the second time that day as my heart melted.