Dance for the Dead
“[AN] EXCITING NOVEL OF
DETECTION AND ESCAPE …
[A] FAST-PACED THRILLER.”
—Dallas Morning News
“Perry is so skillful with the old chase-and-pursuit routine, creates such interesting characters, and writes about them so tellingly, one wants more immediately, not next year—Right Now.”
—The Boston Globe
“Excellently plotted and executed … Jane Whitefield’s third appearance is eagerly awaited.”
—The Orlando Sentinel
“Explosive … The plotting is a miracle of unrelenting tension; the breathless, knowing prose is pitch-perfect; and Jane’s fierce righteousness is perfectly balanced by a mind-boggling wealth of detail about how to plunder trusts, defraud banks, and disappear.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A THOROUGHLY
ENGROSSING READ.”
—Rocky Mountain News
“What makes Dance for the Dead so compelling is the telling itself: the richness of the characters, the exact descriptions of the scenes, the realism of the dialogue, and the cunning with which the plot unfolds.… Perry proves once again that in the realm of thriller writers, he’s the leading candidate for chairman of the board.”
—Wichita Eagle
“Here’s a fair warning: Dance for the Dead is more demanding of your time than a jealous lover. It simply insists on your attention and won’t let you alone until it’s through with you.”
—The Flint Journal
“Perry’s superb plotting and innovative revenge tactics are both believable and delicious; the taut conclusion decisively ends a meticulously designed reign of terror.”
—Lansing State Journal
“Fascinating … The book is both violent and hypnotic; it stays in the mind after the last chapter is over.”
—Time Out
“A THRILLING READ.”
—Charleston Post and Courier
“Perry has packed Dance for the Dead with tense cross-country emotional upheaval and a chilling climax in a rusting old steel mill that provide uninterrupted suspense and excitement.”
—Sunday Tribune Review (Greensburg, PA)
“Wrapping this action-packed and gripping tale with his own sense of dry humor, Perry delivers in Dance for the Dead a modern heroine as sympathetic as she is devious.”
—Sunday Western Star
“Devilishly good … Here is one of the best novels I have read in a long time.… [It] weaves cross-country webs of fascinating complexity. Jane is the kind of person you definitely want on your side, and she has more tricks up her sleeve than the mischievous coyote of Indian mythology.”
—Lincoln Journal Star
“A solid sequel to Vanishing Act … Whitefield is one of the more intriguing characters in recent mystery fiction.”
—Sunday World-Herald
By Thomas Perry:
THE BUTCHER’S BOY
METZGER’S DOG
BIG FISH
ISLAND
SLEEPING DOGS*
VANISHING ACT*
DANCE FOR THE DEAD*
SHADOW WOMAN*
THE FACE-CHANGERS*
BLOOD MONEY*
DEATH BENEFITS*
PURSUIT*
*Published by Ivy Books
An Ivy Book
Published by Ballantine Books
Copyright © 1996 by Thomas Perry
Excerpt from Shadow Woman copyright © 1997 by Thomas Perry
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Ivy Books and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.ballantinebooks.com
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-94984
eISBN: 978-0-307-78135-2
This edition published by arrangement with Random House, Inc.
v3.1
For Jo
with love to
Alix and Isabel
The common aim of all war parties was to bring back persons to replace the mourned-for dead. This could be done in three ways: by bringing back the scalp of a dead enemy (this scalp might even be put through an adoption ceremony); by bringing back a live prisoner (to be adopted, tortured, and killed); or by bringing back a live prisoner to be allowed to live and even to replace in a social role the one whose death had called for this “revenge.”
Anthony F. C. Wallace, The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca, 1969
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
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
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Preview of Shadow Woman
The tall, slim woman hastily tied her long, dark hair into a knot behind her head, planted her feet in the center of the long courthouse corridor, and waited. A few litigants and their attorneys passed her, some of them secretly studying her, more because she was attractive than because she was standing motionless, forcing them to step around her on their way to the courtrooms. Her chest rose and fell in deep breaths as though she had been running, and her eyes looked past them, having already dismissed them before they approached as she stared into the middle distance.
She heard the chime sound above the elevator thirty feet away. Before the doors had fully parted, three large men in sportcoats slipped out between them and spun their heads to stare up the hallway. All three seemed to see her within an instant, their eyes widening, then narrowing to focus, and then becoming watchful and predatory, losing any hint of introspection as they began to move toward her, one beside each wall and one in the middle, increasing their pace with each step.
Several bystanders averted their eyes and sidestepped to avoid them, but the woman never moved. She hiked up the skirt of her navy blue business suit so it was out of her way, took two more deep breaths, then swung her shoulder bag hard at the first man’s face.
The man’s eyes shone with triumph and eagerness as he snatched the purse out of the air. The triumph turned to shock as the woman slipped the strap around his forearm and used the momentum of his charge to haul him into the second man, sending them both against the wall to her right. As they caromed off it, she delivered a kick to one and a chop to the other to put them on the floor. This bought her a few heartbeats to devote to the third man, who was moving along the left wall to get behind her.
She leaned back and swung one leg high. The man read her intention, stopped, and held up his hands to clutch her ankle, but her back foot left the ground and she hurled her weight into him. As her foot caught him at thigh level and propelled him into the wall, there was the sickening crack of his knee popping. He crumpled to the floor and began to gasp and clutch at his crippled leg as the woman rolled to t
he side and sprang up.
The first two men were rising to their feet. Her fist jabbed out at the nearest one and she rocked him back, pivoted to throw an elbow into the bridge of his nose, and brought a knee into the second man’s face.
There was a loud slapping sound and the woman’s head jerked nearly to her left shoulder as a big fist swung into her cheekbone. Strong arms snaked around her from behind, lifted her off her feet to stretch her erect, and she saw the rest as motion and flashes. The first two men rushed at her in rage, aiming hard roundhouse punches at her head and face, gleeful in the certainty that she saw the blows coming but could do nothing to block them or even turn to divert their force.
Two loud, deep voices overlapped, barking for dominance. “Police officers! Freeze!” “Step away from her!” When her opponents released her and stepped away, she dropped to her knees and covered her face with her hands. In a moment, several bystanders who had stood paralyzed with alarm seemed to awaken. They were drawn closer by some impulse to be of use, but they only hovered helplessly nearby without touching her or speaking.
The judge’s chambers were in shadow except for a few horizontal slices of late-afternoon sunlight that shone through the blinds on the wood-paneled wall. Judge Kramer sat in his old oak swivel chair with his robe unzipped but with the yoke still resting on his shoulders. He loosened his tie and leaned back, making the chair’s springs creak, then pressed the PLAY button on the tape recorder.
There were sounds of chairs scraping, papers shuffling, and a garble of murmured conversation, so that the judge’s empty chamber seemed to be crowded with invisible people. A female voice came from somewhere too close to the microphone. “This deposition is to be taken before Julia R. Kinnock, court stenographer at 501 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California, at ten … seventeen A.M. on November third. The court’s instructions were that if there is an objection to the use of a tape recorder, it will be turned off.” There was silence. “Will the others in the room please identify themselves.”
“David M. Schoenfeld, court-appointed counsel to Timothy Phillips.” Schoenfeld’s voice was smooth, and each syllable took too long to come out. Judge Kramer could almost see him leaning into the microphone to croon.
“Nina Coffey, Department of Children’s Services, Los Angeles County, in the capacity of guardian for a minor person.” Kramer had read her name on a number of official papers, but he had never heard her voice before. It was clear and unapologetic, the words quick and clipped, as though she were trying to guard against some kind of vulnerability.
“Kyle Ambrose, Assistant District Attorney, Los Angeles.” As usual, the prosecutor sounded vaguely confused, a pose that had irritated Kramer through six or seven long trials.
Then came the low, monotone voices that were at once self-effacing and weighty, voices of men who had spent a lot of time talking over radios. They started quietly and grew louder, because the last part of each name was the important part.
“Lieutenant James E. Bates, Los Angeles Police Department.”
“Agent Joseph Gould, Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
There was some more shuffling of papers and then Julia Kinnock said, “Mr. Ambrose, do you wish to begin?”
Ambrose’s parched, uncertain voice came in a beat late. “Will you state your name for the record, please?”
There was some throat clearing, and then the high, reedy voice of a young boy. “Tim … Timothy John Phillips.”
Schoenfeld’s courtroom voice intoned, “Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask that the record show that Lieutenant Bates and Agent Gould here present have verified that the deponent’s fingerprints match those of Timothy John Phillips, taken prior to his disappearance.”
The two voices muttered, “So verified,” in the tone of a response in a church. Amen, thought Kramer. Schoenfeld had managed to sidestep onto the record with the one essential fact to be established in the case from Schoenfeld’s point of view.
Ambrose’s voice became slow and clear as he spoke to the boy. “You are to answer of your own accord, You are not to feel that you are in any way obligated to tell us things you don’t want to.” Judge Kramer could imagine Ambrose’s dark eyes flicking to the faces of Schoenfeld, the lawyer, and Nina Coffey, the social worker. It was a confidence game, as Ambrose’s legal work always was. The kid would have to answer all of the questions at some point, but Ambrose was trying to put the watchdogs to sleep. “Mr. Schoenfeld is here as your lawyer, so if you have any doubts, just ask him. And Mrs. Coffey will take you home if you’re too tired. Do you understand?”
The small, high-pitched voice said, “Yes.”
“How old are you?”
“Eight.”
“Can you tell me, please, your earliest recollections?” Judge Kramer clenched his teeth.
“You mean, ever?”
“Yes.”
“I remember … I guess I remember a lot of things. Christmas. Birthdays. I remember moving into our house in Washington.”
“When was that?”
“I don’t know.”
A male voice interjected, “The lease on the Georgetown house began four years ago on January first. That was established during the murder investigation. He would have been four.” The voice would be that of the F.B.I. agent, thought the judge.
“Do you remember anything before that, in another house?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“When you moved in, was Miss Mona Turley already with you?”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
“Who lived there?”
“My parents, me, Mona.”
“Did you have relatives besides your parents? Cousins or uncles?”
“No, just my grandma.”
“Did you ever see her?”
“Not that I remember. She lived far away. We used to send her a Christmas card every year.”
“Did you?” There was the confusion again, as though Ambrose were hearing it for the first time and trying to fathom the implications.
“Yeah. I remember, because my daddy would put my handprint on it. He would write something, and then he would squish my hand onto a stamp pad and press it on the card, because I couldn’t write yet.”
Ambrose hesitated, then said gently, “Do you remember anybody else? Any other grown-ups that, you were with?”
“You mean Mr. and Mrs. Phillips?”
“Yes.”
“I know about them. I don’t think I ever saw them.”
“So when you say your ‘parents’ you mean Raymond and Emily Decker?”
“They were my mother and father.”
Judge Kramer’s brows knitted in distaste. This was typical of Ambrose. Get on with it, he thought. An eight-year-old’s distant recollections weren’t going to get Ambrose anything in a criminal investigation. Such meticulous, redundant questioning had bought him an inflated reputation as a prosecutor—laying the groundwork for an unshakable, brick-hard case. It looked like magic to juries, but to Judge Kramer and the opposing attorneys who knew where he was going, it was like watching an ant carrying single crumbs until he had a hero sandwich.
“So you lived in Washington from the time you were four until …? We’ll get back to that. Tell me what it was like in Washington. Did you like it?”
“It was okay.”
“Were your parents … nice to you?”
There was a hint of shock in the boy’s voice. “Sure.”
“How about discipline? Rules. Were there rules?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you tell me some?”
“Ummm … Pick up the toys. Brush your teeth. My father always brushed his teeth when I did, and then he’d show me his fillings and tell me I’d need some if I didn’t brush the ones in the back.”
“What happened when you didn’t follow the rules?” Ambrose was casual. “Did they hit you?”
Now the little voice was scandalized. “No.”
“Did you go to school?”
> “Sure. The Morningside School. It wasn’t far, so sometimes we walked.”
“So life was pretty good in Washington?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you do when you weren’t in school?”
“I don’t know. Mona used to take me to the park when I was little, and then later sometimes I’d go with my friends. She would sit in the car and wait for me.”
Ambrose paused and seemed to be thinking for a long time, but then Judge Kramer recognized the sound of someone whispering. After a second exchange it sounded angry. He knew it was Nina Coffey. The lawyer Schoenfeld said, “I must point out that this is not an adversarial proceeding, and this part of the story adds no new information to any of the investigations in progress. Miss Coffey has consented to this questioning because she was assured its purpose was for the safety and future welfare of the child. She has a right to withdraw the consent of the Department of Children’s Services if she feels this is unnecessarily traumatic. The child has been over this ground several times with the psychologist and the juvenile officers already. Perhaps we could depart from our regular habits of thoroughness and skip to the recent past.”
Ambrose sounded defensive. “Then would one of you care to help us in that regard to make the record comprehensible?”
Nina Coffey said, “Timmy, tell me if anything I say isn’t true.”
“Okay.”
“Timmy was raised from the time of his earliest recollections until the age of six by Raymond and Emily Decker. They hired Miss Mona Turley as a nanny when they came to Washington, D.C. He has no direct knowledge of earlier events. He was told he was Timmy Decker. From every assessment, he had a normal early childhood. It was a loving home. Miss Turley was a British citizen and a trained nanny, a legal resident alien. There are no signs of physical or psychological abuse, or of developmental difficulties that would indicate deprivation of any kind.” She said pointedly, “This is all covered in the caseworker’s report, so it already is part of the record.”
Judge Kramer felt like applauding. His finger had been hovering over the FAST FWD button, but he knew that he wouldn’t have let it strike. Either you listened to all of it or you were just another politician in a costume.