Almost Dead Read online

  Even though she was trying to remain calm, she could hear the outrage in her own voice. To tell a dreadful lie like that was completely unacceptable.

  Mirabella’s face crumpled, and with a flash of triumph, Cassie knew that the boutique owner was going to capitulate, and that her persistence had won.

  “All right. I will tell you, but then I must ask that you leave,” Mirabella snapped.

  “I will.” Cassie lowered her hand. She felt breathless with expectation.

  “Jacqui Vale worked here for the summer, which is when we are busiest. She stayed on until the end of November, after I sprained my foot and required an operation to fix it.”

  Cassie nodded as the boutique owner continued.

  “She was a good worker and we became friends. When she left, she asked me for a special favor, which I told her I would honor.”

  “What was that?” Cassie asked, but her optimism had dissolved, and in its place she felt a sense of foreboding, because there was something about Mirabella’s tone that was worrying her.

  “She asked me not to give out any of her personal information to anyone who came looking. As a favor, she begged me to tell people that she was dead.”

  “But—why?” Cassie felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “Do you know what was going on in her life? Did she have an abusive ex, or were people looking for her?” She continued, “I’m different, obviously, being her sister. Of course she’d want you to tell me.”

  Mirabella shook her head and with horror, Cassie saw an expression on her face that she could only interpret as pity.

  “I have no idea about her circumstances. But when she asked me for the favor, she told me ‘if anyone looks for me.’ Even, and in fact, especially, if that person was her sister, Cassandra Vale. She said no more than that, and did not tell me why.”

  For a long while there was only silence in the small shop.

  Cassie stood, wordlessly staring at the boutique owner. She felt as if her world had collapsed. Now, looking into the woman’s eyes, she didn’t doubt the truth of what she was saying.

  Why? Why had Jacqui said such a thing, and why was she so frightened of being found?

  What had happened in her life?

  Had it even been Jacqui who had made the calls, looking for her?

  Cassie frowned as she battled to make sense of the events leading up to this moment. Of course it was Jacqui, it had to be, there was nobody else who would randomly call her from Europe, and she’d followed a clear trail while tracking her down.

  Now, it had resulted in a dead end. Her sister had disappeared, and could be anywhere. She was hiding from Cassie.

  “Do you know where she went? Do you have any idea at all?”

  The woman shrugged. “She was heading south, I believe. She was going to take the train, but I don’t know where she was planning to go. I am sorry.”

  She gave Cassie a small, sympathetic smile.

  Bludgeoned by the impact of the woman’s words, Cassie fumbled her way around the counter and headed out of the shop.

  Her dream was shattered, her sister was gone, and she had no further leads to her whereabouts. With the trouble she’d been through in Milan, she needed to leave Italy immediately and in any case, the vague mention of “south”—if it was genuine information—encompassed an entire, huge country. She could spend a lifetime searching every city and town for Jacqui, and never come close to finding her.

  Cassie started the car and drove away. The day had clouded over and it was starting to rain. The lake was gray, the hills beyond shrouded in mist. The town that had seemed so scenic and welcoming now felt like a bleak, unfriendly place.

  Her windscreen wipers sluiced the drizzle away as she headed out of town. Leaving Italy for a different country didn’t feel like the start of a new adventure. It felt like she was giving up. She didn’t understand what had happened to cause this, or why her sister had made this inexplicable choice.

  It could not have been made lightly, but it might have been made for the wrong reasons. All her life, Jacqui had done her best to protect her little sister from the horrors of the world. Cassie wondered if, for whatever reason, she was trying to do the same now.

  If so, Cassie would have to find her and change her mind, and explain that she was a different person now. She had no idea how she would do this, but she knew she would have to try.

  “I’m not forgetting you, Jacqui. And I’m never giving up on you,” she said aloud, and although her voice sounded small and uncertain, she knew her words were the truth.

  COMING SOON!

  Book #4 in the AU PAIR series will be available soon!

  Blake Pierce

  Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes sixteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising thirteen books (and counting); 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 five books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising five books (and counting); of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting); of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising two books (and counting); and of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising two books (and counting).

  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.

  BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

  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)

  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)

  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)

  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)

  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 MUDER (Book #2)

  A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

  A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

  A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)