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Serpent’s Tooth
Faye Kellerman
The tenth book in the hugely popular Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series from New York Times bestselling author Faye KellermanOne moment can devastate countless lives…It’s everyone’s worst nightmare. What starts out as a relaxed evening in a chic Los Angeles restaurant suddenly turns into a bloodbath when an angry former employee starts spraying bullets before turning the gun on himself. 13 people are left dead, and dozens more wounded.For Detective Peter Decker, the case, horrific as it is, initially appears cut and dried. But then evidence comes to light that suggests more than one weapon was fired.As Decker delves deeper, he is plunged into the world of wealthy, powerful California, where everything can be bought, and nothing is as it seems. Continuing to dig will put his reputation at risk, but nothing will stop him from exposing the truth…
Serpent’s Tooth
Faye Kellerman
Copyright (#ud6892401-67f0-55cf-9fce-03a2326414eb)
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in the United States by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 1997
This ebook edition published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Copyright © Faye Kellerman 1997
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Cover photography © Shutterstock.com (https://www.shutterstock.com/)
Faye Kellerman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © March 2019 ISBN: 9780008293567
Version: 2018-12-10
Dedication (#ud6892401-67f0-55cf-9fce-03a2326414eb)
To Jonathan after having reached
the twenty-five-year mark.
There may be silver at your temples,
but there’s only gold in your heart.
Thanks a heap, Colonel.
Epigraph (#ud6892401-67f0-55cf-9fce-03a2326414eb)
Now the serpent was more cunning than any other beast of the field.
—Genesis 3:1
Because you did this, you are cursed from among all the animals and beasts of the field.
—Genesis 3:14
From this we learn that we do not give one who seduces people [to do evil] the opportunity to justify his actions.
—Rashi
Sanhedrin 29a
Contents
Cover (#ud7e57285-c58c-5e83-a202-903bcd54cbd0)
Title Page (#u718bed3f-935c-5569-8856-aebc746bf413)
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
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Keep Reading
About the Author
Faye Kellerman booklist
About the Publisher
1 (#ud6892401-67f0-55cf-9fce-03a2326414eb)
Nobody noticed him.
Not Wendy Culligan, who was too busy pitching million-dollar condos to a half-dozen Japanese businessmen more interested in her rear than in residences. Still, she patiently went about her spiel, talking about in-house services, drop-dead views, revolving mortgages, and great resale values.
Leaning over the table, showing a touch of cleavage while spearing a jumbo shrimp off the seafood appetizer plate. Along with the prawns were oysters, abalone, gravlax, and raw sea-urchin sashimi, the last item a big hit with the Asians—something about making them potent.
Men—regardless of race, creed, or color—thought only about sex. And here she was, trying to earn an honest buck while they popped squiggly things into their mouths, washing the tidbits down with sake as they licked their lips suggestively.
What’s a poor working girl to do?
Inwardly, Wendy acknowledged that Brenda, her boss, had been generous in arranging the dinner at Estelle’s. The restaurant was exquisite—all silver and crystal and candlelight. Antique mahogany buffets and chests rested against walls lined with elegant sky-blue Oriental silk screens. Exotic flower arrangements adorned every table—giant lilies, imported orchids, and twotone roses. A hint of perfume, but never overwhelming. The chairs were not only upholstered in silky fabric but comfortable as well. Even the bar area was posh—plush stools, smoked mirrors, and rich walnut panels, all tastefully illuminated with Tivoli lights.
She felt as if she were dining in a palace, wondered why the rich ever had any problems. So what if they came with baggage—their scheming mistresses and lovers, their tawdry secrets and perverted kinks, their whining children and mooching relatives. Wendy could have withstood the pain, just so long as those big bucks kept rolling in.
Transfixed by the splendid surroundings, so intent on doing her job—getting a fat and much-needed commission—Wendy didn’t blink an eye when the young man with the green sport coat walked through the door, eyeing the room with coldness and calculation.
Neither did Linda or Ray Garrison.
At last, Ray was enjoying a little solitude with his wife of thirty-five years. Recalling the anniversary party that their daughter, Jeanine, had thrown for them even if she had thrown it with his money. At least it had gone well. Jeanine was one hell of an organizer. The guests had remarked what a wonderful party it was, what magnificent parents he and Linda must have been to have raised two such devoted children … politely including David in the same category as Jeanine. No one had dared to hint at his son’s recent jail term.
An elegant affair. But Ray knew it had been just as much for Jeanine as it had been for Linda and him. Lots of her “club” friends—people Ray barely knew—had come along for the ride.
Still, it had been fun. And David had behaved himself. At last, the boy finally seemed to be moving in the right direction, was using his God-given talents. Ray would have disinherited him years ago, but it had been Linda’s soft heart that had kept the avenues of communication open.
Linda. Soft, beautiful, generous, and solid, his backbone for three and a half decades. At times, he was aware of the age in her face, the webbing around the corners of her eyes and mouth, the gentle drop of her jaw and cheeks. But Linda’s imperfections, completely absent in her youth, only served to increase his desire for her.
He loved her with all his heart. And he knew that she returned the sentiment. At times, their closeness seemed to exclude everyone else, including their children. Maybe that was why David had grown up so resentful. But more than likely, their love for one another had nothing to do with their son’s problems. Weak-willed and cursed with talent and charm, Dave had drifted into a Bohemian life at an early age.
