Free Thriller by James Patterson

absurd. Where else can you mix such a cosmopolitan, big-city venue with traces of a distant past? The
    place has it all. Snowbirds blending with the Old South. The
    Everglades, where proud tribes of Native Americans still live.
    And the sultry “river of grass,” which affords deadly opportunities for the drug trade and convenient hiding spots for
    bodies that may never surface again.
    Graham loves her hometown, the water, boating, and one
    of her main passions, scuba diving. She says that loving
    Miami is like loving a child. You have to accept it for the good
    and bad. Graham is known for creating locations that live
    and breathe—becoming as much a character in her books as
    the people who propel them. A multi-award-winning author,
    continually reaching New York Times and USA TODAY lists,
    she’s glad to work in several venues, including vampire, historical, ghost and suspense. Whatever time or place she’s
    dealing in, Graham loves to keep her readers on edge. With
    68
    The Face in the Window she takes characters from her thriller,
    The Island, and sets them in the midst of an unexpected
    storm with unexpected consequences.

THE FACE IN THE WINDOW
    Lightning flashed.
    Thunder cracked.
    It might have been the end of the world.
    And there, cast eerily in the window, pressed against it, was a
    face. The eyes were red; they seemed to glow, like demon eyes.
    There was a split second when it seemed the storm had cast up
    the very devil to come for her.
    Startled, Beth Henson let out a scream, backing away from the
    image, almost tripping over the coffee table behind her. The brilliant illumination created by the lightning faded to black, and
    along with it, the image of the face.
    Beyond the window, darkness reigned again.
    A lantern burned on the table, a muted glow against the shadowed darkness of night. The storm had long since blown out the
    electricity as it should have removed other inhabitants from the
    area. The wind railed with the sharpness of a banshee’s shriek,
    even though the hurricane had wound down to tropical-storm
    strength before descending upon the lower Florida Keys.
    Instinctive terror reigned in Beth’s heart for several long sec- 70
    onds, then compassion overrode it. Someone was out there,
    drenched and frightened in the storm. She had gone to the window to see if she could find any sign of Keith. He had left her
    when their last phone communication with the sheriff had
    warned them that Mrs. Peterson—one of the few full-time residents of the tiny key—had failed to evacuate. She wouldn’t leave
    for a shelter, not when the shelters wouldn’t allow her to bring
    Cocoa, her tiny Yorkie. Okay, so Cocoa could be a pain, but she
    and Keith could understand the elderly woman’s love for her pup
    and companion, and Beth had convinced Keith they could listen to a bit of barking.
    The appearance of the face in the window was followed by a
    banging on the door. Beth jumped again, startled. For a moment,
    she froze. What if it was a serial killer? Normally, she would
    never just open a door to anyone.
    But the pounding continued, along with a cry for help. She
    sprang into action, chiding herself. Someone was out there who
    needed shelter from the storm. Some idiot tourist without the
    sense to evacuate when told to. And if that someone died because
    she was too frightened to give aid in an emergency…
    And how ridiculous. Sure, the world had proven to be a rough
    place, with heinous and conniving criminals. But to assume a serial killer was running around in the midst of what might have
    been a killer storm was just ludicrous.
    She hurried forward, hand firmly on the door as she opened it
    against the power of the wind. Again, compassion surged through
    her as the soaked and bedraggled man came staggering in, desperately gasping for breath. He was a thin man with dark, wet hair
    that clung to his face and the back of his neck. When he looked
    at Beth, his eyes were wide and terrified. He offered