Worst Case by James Patterson Read Free Book Online Page A

to your lovely friend here.”
    “Emily, meet Father Seamus Bennett, our local pastor, and though I don’t like to admit it too often, my grandfather. We’re working together on a case, Monsignor. Emily’s an FBI agent.”
    “FBI,” Seamus said, impressed, as he shook her hand. “A G-lady in the flesh. Is it true they let you torture suspects now?”
    “Just annoying old men,” I answered for her.
    The kids, finally noticing that there was a stranger in their midst, quieted down and sat staring. Trent, one of our family’s many comedians, stepped over like a four-foot-tall butler.
    “Hello,” he said, offering his hand to Emily. “Welcome to the Bennett home. May I take your coat?”
    Emily stared at me as she shook his hand. “Um . . .,” she said.
    “How do you do?” said Ricky, getting in on the act. “It’s sooo nice of you to come for dinner, ma’am.”
    “All right, you goofballs. Enough,” I said.
    Just then, Juliana, my oldest girl, stopped as she came in from the kitchen. She pulled out her ever-present iPod earbuds before turning back for the kitchen.
    “Mary Catherine, Dad brought a guest home. Should I set out another plate?”
    Mary Catherine appeared a minute later.
    “Of course,” she said.
    “Oh, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to impose, Mrs. Bennett.”
    “Did you hear what she said?” cried Chrissy. “Hey, everyone. Did you hear that? She called Mary Catherine Mrs. Bennett!”
    “I’m sorry?” Emily said, looking at me, raw pleading in her face.
    “That’s it, you guys. Back off now, and I mean it,” I said. I turned to Emily. “It’s a long story. Mary Catherine and I aren’t married,” I started. I laughed suddenly. “That didn’t come out right. What I mean to say is—”
    “What he means to say is that I work for this crew,” Mary Catherine said. “Pleased to meet you,” she said, shaking Emily’s hand briskly.
    “Oh, my mistake,” Emily said.
    Just then, the saliva-inducing scent of rosemary, garlic, and pepper hit us like a freight train. Emily turned as Juliana placed a massive roasted leg of lamb on the dining room table. It smelled insanely good.
    “On Sundays, Mary Catherine pulls out all the stops,” I explained.
    Emily’s eyes went wide as Brian came in carrying mashed potatoes on a platter the size of a toboggan.
    “You definitely do not have to stay,” I said to Emily. “Don’t let these tricksters fool you with their polite routine. We redefine the term family-style .”
    Socky began rubbing himself on Emily’s shin.
    “But, Daddy, look. Even Socky wants her to stay,” said Chrissy, batting her butterfly-wing eyelids up at Emily.
    Emily knelt down and finally petted the cat.
    “Well, if Socky says I should, I guess I have to,” she said.
    “In that case, here,” I said, pouring Emily a huge glass of red wine. “You’re going to need this.”

Chapter 17
    TRYING TO KEEP her balance amid the swirl of kids and motion in the bright, warm apartment, Emily Parker sipped her wine and smiled.
    Incredible, she thought. All these children. So many races. They had to be adopted, right? At least some of them did. And was there a Mrs. Bennett? She’d definitely gotten single vibes off Mike.
    She watched as Mike knelt down and lifted up the seven-year-old black boy and softly judo-flipped him over his shoulder onto the couch next to an Asian girl.
    She certainly hadn’t expected this.
    “Hey!” one of the kids yelled. “Check it out!”
    On the TV screen, Emily and Mike were on the sidewalk in front of the Bronx building. The coverage of the kidnapping had already begun.
    The children all started clapping. One of the tween girls put her pinkies in her mouth and whistled like a doorman hailing a taxi. Emily chuckled as she watched Bennett take an elaborate bow.
    “Thank you, everyone. No autographs, please. Enough fame for now, it’s time to eat!”
    And the dinner, Emily thought as they finally sat, looked incredible. One of the