City of Fear: An Ava Gold Mystery (Book 2) Read online

  C I T Y O F F E A R

  (An Ava Gold Mystery—Book Two)

  B L A K E P I E R C E

  Blake Pierce

  Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising nineteen books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising thirteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting).

  ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery—Book 1), WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige—Book 1), NEXT DOOR (A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery—Book 1), THE PERFECT WIFE (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book One), IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 1), MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery—Book 1), LEFT TO DIE (An Adele Sharp Mystery—Book One), and A MURDER IN PARIS (A Year in Europe—Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!

  An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

  Copyright © 2021 by Blake Pierce. 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 permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright used under license from Shutterstock.com.

  BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

  RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

  HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

  HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

  HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

  HER LAST FEAR (Book #4)

  HER LAST CHOICE (Book #5)

  HER LAST BREATH (Book #6)

  AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

  CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

  CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

  CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

  CITY OF GHOSTS (Book #4)

  CITY OF DEATH (Book #5)

  CITY OF VICE (Book #6)

  A YEAR IN EUROPE

  A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

  DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

  VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

  A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)

  ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

  GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)

  GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)

  GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)

  GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)

  GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)

  GIRL ERASED (Book #6)

  GIRL, FORSAKEN (Book #7)

  GIRL, TRAPPED (Book #8)

  GIRL, EXPENDABLE (Book #9)

  LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

  ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

  ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

  ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

  ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)

  ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)

  ALREADY TAKEN (Book #6)

  EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

  MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)

  DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)

  CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)

  MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)

  CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)

  MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)

  ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES

  LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)

  LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)

  LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)

  LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)

  LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)

  LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)

  LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)

  LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)

  LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)

  LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)

  LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)

  LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)

  LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)

  THE AU PAIR SERIES

  ALMOST GONE (Book#1)

  ALMOST LOST (Book #2)

  ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)

  ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES

  FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)

  FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

  FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)

  FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)

  FACE OF FURY (Book #5)

  FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)

  A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

  THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

  THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

  THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

  THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

  THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

  THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

  THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)

  THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)

  THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)

  THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)

  THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)

  THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)

  THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)

  THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)

  THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)

  THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)

  THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)

  THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)

  THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)

  CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

  NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

  A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

  CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

  SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

  HOMECOMING (Book #5)

  TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

  KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

  IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

  IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

  IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

  IF SHE HID (Book #4)

  IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

  IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

  IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

  THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

  WATCHING (Book #1)

  WAITING (Book #2)

  LURING (Book #3)

  TAKING (Book #4)

  STALKING (Book #5)

  KILLING (Book #6)

  RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

  ONCE GONE (Book #1)

  ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

  ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

  ONCE LURED (Book #4)

  ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

  ONCE PINED (Book #6)
br />   ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

  ONCE COLD (Book #8)

  ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

  ONCE LOST (Book #10)

  ONCE BURIED (Book #11)

  ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

  ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

  ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

  ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

  ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

  ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

  MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

  BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

  BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

  BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

  BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

  BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

  BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

  BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

  BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

  BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

  BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

  BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

  BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

  BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

  BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

  AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

  CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

  CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

  CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

  CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

  CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

  CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

  KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

  A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

  A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

  A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

  A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

  A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVE

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  PROLOGUE

  Evelyn Johnson knew she had a good paying job, so she felt ungrateful when she belly-ached and fussed about the people she worked with. As an African American woman living in New York, she was very aware that her upbringing in this country sixty years ago would have been very different. Her mother had told her tales of how their people had been treated, particularly on the plantations down south. Compared to those horror stories, Evelyn figured she had been blessed by the Good Lord above and should just swallow down the little gripes she had about her job.

  It was hard sometimes, though. She worked for a gentleman named George Pickett, a man that had been born into money, seemed to make more of it out of thin air, and spent it as if it meant nothing at all. Evelyn worked as a maid and cleaning lady for George and his prudish wife in their far-too-upscale Fifth Avenue house. And today was one of those days when George and Millie Pickett were getting rid of money like it was poison.

  Today was their daughter’s sixteenth birthday. And rather than give the girl a simple gift or a cake of some kind, there was something else going on—something Evelyn did not understand and, if she was being honest, made her quite angry. She’d heard Millie refer to it as a coming-out party. Some hoity-toity way to let all the other rich white folks in New York city know that their daughter, Penny, was now a proper young lady. Because apparently the ages of one-to-fifteen were just practice for being dolled over and made a fuss about when you turned sixteen.

  The amount of money and attention going into this party was staggering to Evelyn. Millie had gone out to get a new rug and new curtains for the sitting room. Meanwhile, George had ordered cigars from some special place in France and they’d arrived on a boat several days ago. He’d been fawning over those boxes of smokes as if they were another child. There were all kinds of food being delivered today and, from what she’d learned first thing upon arriving at the house this morning, a three-piece orchestra.

  It was a perfectly good waste of money in Evelyn’s eyes. She figured the rug and curtains alone would probably pay her rent out in the poor part of the city for at least eight months.

  And where was the birthday girl on the morning of this gluttonous coming-out party? Well, precious little Penny Pickett was asleep in her room. Here it was almost nine o’ clock in the morning and Penny hadn’t bothered to come out of her room yet. This was nothing new, though, as Penny often slept until ten or eleven in the morning. And why not? It wasn’t like she had much of anything to do on any given day.

  Evelyn was dusting the bottom of the stair rail, peering up to the second floor hallway, when Millie came walking by. She was dressed to the nines and talking with another well-dressed white lady with a pointy chin. When Millie passed by Evelyn, she stopped, turned to her maid, and sighed.

  “Is the ever-loving girl still sleeping?” Millie asked.

  “Yes ma’am, I guess so. I haven’t seen a speck of her all morning.”

  “My sweet Lord,” Millie said. The prissy woman next to her made a hmmph sound.

  “Be a dear and go wake her, would you Evelyn?” Millie said.

  “Yes ma’am.” She tucked her duster into the tied drawstrings of her apron and started upstairs.

  Evelyn honestly held no grudge toward Penny—nor George or Millie for that matter. The only thing that chapped her was that the parents spent money like people that had never lived without it and they were raising their daughter to be exactly the same. She supposed it came from a place of envy and she had to remind herself on a daily basis what the Good Book said about envy.

  Evelyn came to the top of the stairs and walked down the finely carpeted hallway. She passed by the elegant vase sitting on a small table—both the vase and the table worth more than Evelyn could imagine, that did nothing but sit there to show proof of extravagances of the Picketts—on her way to Penny’s room. She hesitated as she came to Penny’s door. She wondered if she’d get the sweet version of Penny or the grumpy one. She figured it would be a sweet side of Penny today, being that this ridiculous party was about to be thrown in her honor.

  She knocked on the door, waited a moment, and then said, “Penny! You best get out of bed before your mother comes and tosses you right out!”

  There was no answer of any kind, not even the gentle slamming of a thrown pillow against the door—another tactic Penny had used in the past. Evelyn waited a beat and then leaned her head right against the door.

  “Girl, you know they’re throwing this big old party for you. If you’re not downstairs soon, your parent’s will take a mind to beat us both.” She knocked again, louder this time, and added: “Now come on and get up!”

  Evelyn nearly started walking away with that said. She’d taken a single step before she realized that something didn’t feel quite right about this. Penny had always responded to Evelyn’s attempts to wake her up, be it in a gentle and kind manner or a wretched and mean one. She started to wonder if the girl was sick, maybe with that summer flu some people had been catching a few weeks ago. And wouldn’t that be one hell of a joke—the precious sixteen-year-old young lady sick on the day she’s supposed to make some grand appearance to the public.

  Curious, Evelyn stepped back to Penny’s door. She knocked again and this time said nothing. She waited ten full seconds before she reached for the knob. “Penny…I don’t know what you’re up to in there, but I’ve knocked, okay? I’ve knocked and you’re not answering, so I’m coming in.”

  Evelyn turned the ornate crystal doorknob and op
ened the door onto Penny’s room. It was tidy like always, and morning sunlight came in through the room’s only window on the right side. Penny was still in bed, mostly covered by the sheets. Evelyn opened her mouth to say something else but the feeling of something just not being right kept any words from coming out. Instead, she stepped closer to the bed. She saw that Penny was sleeping on her back, her head perfectly centered on the pillow. It was almost as if she was acting, making sure everything looked perfect and—

  A gasp rose up in Evelyn’s throat.

  Penny’s eyes were staring up at the ceiling, open wide and not blinking. Her head was so perfectly centered on the pillow and she was flat on her back because she had clearly not moved in quite some time.

  “Penny…?”

  But of course, Penny did not answer.

  In fact, it was clear she would never speak again.

  Evelyn ran out of the room and was screaming for George and Millie, even as they both continued to set up for a dead girl’s party downstairs.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “You just try it, pal, and I’ll make sure you’re behind bars for a long time.”

  Ava Gold stared her son down as he was about to slip the remainder of his breakfast grits into the trash can. He looked guiltily at her but there was the merest trace of a smile on his face. He liked to hear his mom talk like a cop. He was still getting used to the fact that she was a detective now. So was Ava, actually.

  “It’s just one bite, Mom!” Jeffrey argued. “And they’re so gross.”

  “You said it yourself. Just one bite. We don’t waste food in this house, Jeffrey.”

  He was still grinning from the behind bars comment and gave in rather easily. He ate his last bite of grits and then went to the sink to wash the plate off.

  “Good job,” Ava said. “Now run brush your teeth. If we don’t get out of here in the next five minutes, you’re going to be late for school.”

  Jeffrey let out a sigh, but it didn’t bother Ava. She knew he liked the rushing around. He liked it because the rushing meant that his mother now also had somewhere to be. Now that she was a detective, she had to work by a more rigid schedule. Rushing to get out of the door on time in the morning was a reminder of that and he usually had no issue with helping out.