Left to harm, p.1
Left to Harm, page 1
L E F T
T O
H A R M
(An Adele Sharp Mystery—Book Fifteen)
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 twenty four 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 sixteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising eleven 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); of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising eight books (and counting); of the VALERIE LAW mystery series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the PAIGE KING mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the MAY MOORE mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); and the CORA SHIELDS mystery series, comprising three 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.
Copyright © 2022 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 Marina Malades, used under license from Shutterstock.com.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
CORA SHIELDS MYSTERY SERIES
UNDONE (Book #1)
UNWANTED (Book #2)
UNHINGED (Book #3)
MAY MOORE SUSPENSE THRILLER
NEVER RUN (Book #1)
NEVER TELL (Book #2)
NEVER LIVE (Book #3)
NEVER HIDE (Book #4)
NEVER FORGIVE (Book #5)
NEVER AGAIN (Book #6)
PAIGE KING MYSTERY SERIES
THE GIRL HE PINED (Book #1)
THE GIRL HE CHOSE (Book #2)
THE GIRL HE TOOK (Book #3)
THE GIRL HE WISHED (Book #4)
THE GIRL HE CROWNED (Book #5)
THE GIRL HE WATCHED (Book #6)
VALERIE LAW MYSTERY SERIES
NO MERCY (Book #1)
NO PITY (Book #2)
NO FEAR (Book #3)
NO SLEEP (Book #4)
NO QUARTER (Book #5)
NO CHANCE (Book #6)
NO REFUGE (Book #7)
NO GRACE (Book #8)
NO ESCAPE (Book #9)
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)
HER LAST MISTAKE (Book #7)
HER LAST DESIRE (Book #8)
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)
GIRL, ESCAPED (Book #10)
GIRL, HIS (Book #11)
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)
ALREADY CHOSEN (Book #7)
ALREADY LOST (Book #8)
ALREADY HIS (Book #9)
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)
LEFT TO LOATHE (Book #14)
LEFT TO HARM (Book #15)
LEFT TO RUIN (Book #16)
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)
THE PERFECT COUPLE (Book #20)
THE PERFECT MURDER (Book #21)
THE PERFECT HUSBAND (Book #22)
THE PERFECT SCANDAL (Book #23)
THE PERFECT MASK (Book #24)
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)
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)
BEFOR
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
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
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
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
Train doors swished shut behind her, and now she was alone. Amber’s heels clicked against the grimy tiled floor as a couple of dim, buzzing fluorescent tube lights illuminated the train stop. It was late, so most of the station was empty.
As she moved forward, a small door opened along the wall, and she spotted a janitor pushing a yellow mop bucket around a beige column, water droplets sloshing onto the floor and stippling dark spots across the dusty ground. She smoothed the front of her blouse, frowning at the wrinkle near the second button that refused to submit.
She let out a faint sigh, brushing strands of frazzled hair behind an ear and making a beeline for the green exit sign at the base of the stairs. Exhaustion lingered along her limbs, weighing them down after a long day of work. Driving in Paris was simply impossible, but the train came with its own particular obstacles.
She listened to the faint whir of the fleeing locomotive on the tracks behind her. A faint breeze wafted past her, dabbing at her warm neck—the air current caused by the train jetting through the dark, underground tunnel only fifty yards to her right, near a compartment for lockers.
She winced suddenly, resisting the urge to slap her head. She needed to grab her daughter’s weekend bag from the locker where she’d left it that morning. Her ex had agreed to pick Claire up from her friend’s sleepover the next morning, and Amber had agreed to meet him halfway, dropping the bag off at his apartment. It was on the way, after all—at least, so she’d reasoned.
She sighed, her footsteps still clicking against the dusty tile as she rerouted and headed for the rain lockers. The buzzing lights cast her shadow past her, stretching it toward the edge of the platform as if the silhouette were peering down onto the tracks.
She heard a flutter of motion behind her, and her heart skipped. She shot a quick look back, her blonde hair swishing across her sweaty face. But it was just the janitor again, whistling as he locked a door to a closet and moved off in the other direction, leaving her alone.
She paused, standing in the sudden silence. The train was gone now. The janitor vanished. The sound of traffic from the streets above was little more than a dull hum. She’d never quite realized just how… isolated these places could be so late at night. A faint shiver probed up her spine, like cold, trailing fingers.
She brushed hurriedly at her hair again, once more trying to smooth the annoying wrinkle on her shirt, and then—wincing where her palm caught against the second button—she continued toward the lockers.
As she moved into the three-sided room, lined with rectangular doors, she fished her keys from her pocket, pulling out the rental. She glanced at the number on the side, then stepped past the key disposal slot behind her and approached the locker.
As she pressed the teeth into the keyhole, though, something caught her eye.
She froze.
A faint trail of juice was spilling from the locker above her own, trailing down in sticky, viscous patterns where it eventually pooled on the floor in a slick sheen of crimson. Briefly, she caught her reflection in the puddle of red.
Amber inhaled faintly. She detected an odd, semi-sweet, coppery scent lingering on the air. She stared at the locker above her own. At first, all she could think was that some moron had stowed their lunch and forgotten it. If a juice box had ruined Claire’s favorite jeans, Amber was going to be furious…
But something about the strands of red down the face of gray metal gave her pause. She reached out with shaking fingers, still holding her key.
It was then that she realized someone had left the top locker open. Just a crack. Enough that she glimpsed a faint slit of black up and down the side of the metal door.
The same prickle from earlier reintroduced itself to her spine. Almost despite her best instincts, she reached up with a shaking hand and gripped the handle to the locker above hers. She stood frozen for a moment, feeling the handle’s cold metal against her skin. That tinny scent still lingered on the air.
“Hello?” she called quietly, glancing over her shoulder suddenly. But no response. She wasn’t sure who she was even speaking to. The locker was far too small for a person… No sign of the janitor behind her. No other passengers on the platform.
She was alone and couldn’t shake a rising sense of horror in her gut.
She twisted the handle to the locker, even though it was already unlocked, shivering as she did. As the door pulled open, she stared inside… and her eyes bugged.
The first thing she spotted was the cheap burner phone facing her. A white light blinked next to the camera, suggesting it was recording video. But just as quickly, her eyes darted down.
That’s when she spotted the severed human finger.
Her mouth opened, and she let out a shaking exhale. Halfway through, it began to turn into a scream. But before she could fully release the astonished cry, the phone in the locker began to ring.
The blinking white light continued to pulse above the severed, bloody finger as a faint, playful ring-tone emanated from the locker. A ringtone with bells and flutes and faint humming. In fact, Amber thought she recognized it as a child’s nursery song.
The phone continued to ring insistently as Amber stared into the locker. The light continued to blink as if watching her like some cyclops. She wanted to turn and scream… She needed to call the police. But her own phone was nearly dead.
And this one? Perhaps she could just use it.
Breathing through her mouth now in quick, shallow puffs, she summoned all her inner courage built over the course of nearly five years as a single mother. Her hand shot into the locker, snaring the phone and ripping it out. She must have bumped something on the cheap touchscreen, because a second later, a voice crackled from the speaker.
“H-hello?” the voice said, desperately, shaking with fear. A child’s voice…
Suddenly, her eyes widened. “C-claire?” she whispered.
But no. Not her daughter. In fact, when the voice spoke again, she wasn’t so certain it belonged to a child. More like someone play-acting. A sugary, innocent voice like from some cartoon. A caricature of a child’s voice. This, along with the nursery rhyme ringtone, nearly made Amber drop the phone completely.
But the voice seemed to sense her hesitation. “P-please,” it said. “I need your help. Please help me!”
She didn’t reply. Didn’t want to speak with the creepy voice on the phone. She refused to look in the direction of the finger now.
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