Lethal Deception
Lynette Eason
MILLS & BOON
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Dedicated to Jesus Christ.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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
Acknowledgment
Thanks to:
My husband, Jack. I love you, appreciate you, respect you
and thank God for you.
My children, Lauryn and Will, who understand when Mom
orders takeout for supper—six times a week.
My parents, Lewis and Lou Jean Barker, brother Lane, and
in-laws, Bill and Diane Eason. Jason and Jennifer Dorris.
You guys are so great!
My grandma, Freda Trowbridge, in Amarillo, Texas.
My fellow teachers and coworkers at the
South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.
You guys are awesome!
Shirlee McCoy, Ginny Aiken and Dee Henderson.
Thank you!
Brandilyn Collins for posting me on her blog!
Check out February 28, 2007 at
www.brandilyncollins.com!
ACFW. You’re fabulous.
To the girls: Margaret Hall, Dawn Barnes, Joni Quinn,
Becky Smith, Tracy Krout & Sarah Couch.
Eastside Spartanburg Martial Arts. You’re a blessing!
And you don’t look at me weird when I come to watch
my kids’ karate classes with a laptop in hand.
To my home church, Northgate Baptist, and
my new church, New Life Baptist Fellowship.
Jesse and Carolyn Hartley.
Jesse, keep writing, you’re next!
ONE
March 2
Early afternoon
Brazilian orphanage
Danger hung heavy in the air around her. It was time to go. Instinct, a nudging from God or just plain common sense told her the time was now. She’d been here a month getting to know the child in her arms, but even this three-hour wait for the taxi she’d called was too much time. Cassidy McKnight loved Tefé, a poor city located in the state of Amazonas, situated in the northern part of Brazil. But now, uneasiness rolled through her as she shifted two-and-a-half-year-old Alexis higher on her hip and scanned the dirt path that was supposed to pass for a road.
Tropical green trees swayed in the slight breeze, and the humidity pulled Cassidy’s natural flame-colored curls even tighter against her head, causing the mass to lay heavy against the back of her neck.
“Come on, come on,” she muttered, alternating amongst pacing, standing and tapping her foot. Patience had never been her strongest virtue. Where was the cab?
“My Cass-ty,” Alexis said, and lay her curly, blond head on Cassidy’s shoulder.
“My Lexi,” she answered, and planted a smacking kiss on the child’s rosy cheek.
Alexis grinned, then sobered. “Want Mama.”
Cassidy’s heart lurched. “I know, sweetie. I wish your mama was here, too.”
“Daddy?”
Cassidy nodded. “Yes, Daddy, too.”
Alexis looked up at the sky. “In heaven with Jesus?”
Cassidy blinked back tears and whispered, “Yeah, in heaven with Jesus.”
Anna, one of the relief workers from the orphanage and also a woman Cassidy called friend, walked up. “Taxis take forever around here. You might be better off hiking it.”
Before Cassidy could respond, Alexis pointed to the sky and said, “Mama, Daddy with Jesus.”
Anna blew out a
