In the Deep

PRAISE FOR IN THE DARK

“White (The Dark Bones) employs kaleidoscopic perspectives in this tense modern adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. White’s structural sleight of hand as she shifts between narrators and timelines keeps the suspense high . . . Christie fans will find this taut, clever thriller to be a worthy homage to the original.”

—Publishers Weekly

“White excels at the chilling romantic thriller.”

—The Amazon Book Review

“In the Dark is a brilliantly constructed Swiss watch of a thriller, containing both a chilling locked-room mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and a detective story that would make Harry Bosch proud. Do yourself a favor and find some uninterrupted reading time, because you won’t want to put this book down.”

—Jason Pinter, bestselling author of the Henry Parker series

PRAISE FOR LORETH ANNE WHITE

“A masterfully written, gritty, suspenseful thriller with a tough, resourceful protagonist that hooked me and kept me guessing until the very end. Think CJ Box and Craig Johnson. Loreth Anne White’s The Dark Bones is that good.”

—Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Eighth Sister

“Secrets, lies, and betrayal converge in this heart-pounding thriller that features a love story as fascinating as the mystery itself.”

—Iris Johansen, New York Times bestselling author of Smokescreen

“A riveting, atmospheric suspense novel about the cost of betrayal and the power of redemption, The Dark Bones grips the reader from the first page to the pulse-pounding conclusion.”

—Kylie Brant, Amazon bestselling author of Pretty Girls Dancing

“Loreth Anne White has set the gold standard for the genre.”

—Debra Webb, USA Today bestselling author

“Loreth Anne White has a talent for setting and mood. The Dark Bones hooked me from the start. A chilling and emotional read.”

—T.R. Ragan, author of Her Last Day

“A must read, A Dark Lure is gritty, dark romantic suspense at its best. A damaged yet resilient heroine, a deeply conflicted cop, and a truly terrifying villain collide in a stunning conclusion that will leave you breathless.”

—Melinda Leigh, Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author

OTHER MONTLAKE TITLES BY LORETH ANNE WHITE

In the Dark

The Dark Bones

A Dark Lure

In the Barren Ground

In the Waning Light

The Slow Burn of Silence

Angie Pallorino Novels

The Drowned Girls

The Lullaby Girl

The Girl in the Moss

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2020 by Cheakamus House Publishing

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by Montlake, Seattle

www.apub.com

Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

ISBN-13: 9781542019699

ISBN-10: 1542019699

Cover design by Caroline Teagle Johnson

For Jay and Melanie and their piece of paradise, which inspired this story.

CONTENTS

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN LOZZA

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN LOZZA

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE WATCHER

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE WATCHER

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE WATCHER

THEN ELLIE

THEN ELLIE

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN ELLIE

THEN LOZZA

THE MURDER TRIAL

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THEN LOZZA

THE MURDER TRIAL

THE MURDER TRIAL

THE MURDER TRIAL

THE MURDER TRIAL

NOW ELLIE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THE MURDER TRIAL

I believe you believe what you saw, but what you saw is not what you think.

—Harry Houdini

Now, February. Supreme Court, New South Wales.

I see the crowd as soon as the sedan hired by my legal team turns onto the street. Galvanized by the sight of our black Audi, the mob surges forward. Police struggle to hold the agitators back. I see mouths open wide, yelling. Cameras. Reporters. Microphones. Faces red and hot in the Sydney summer sun. I can’t hear them, though. The air-conditioned interior of our car is cool and smooth and silent, but as we near the courthouse, I’m able to discern the text on the placards being waved at us. At me.

KILLER!

JUSTICE FOR MARTIN!

LOCK HER UP

I feel like Alice slipped through the looking glass. Off with her head then . . . This cannot be happening. This cannot be real. I press my palms firmly onto my thighs, terrified by the ferocity that my trial has unleashed. I try to keep my face expressionless, as per my legal team’s coaching. But a man slams the front page of this morning’s City Herald against the window near my head. I flinch. My heart beats faster at the sight of the angry black letters that march across the top of the page.

ACCUSED OF KILLING HUSBAND: CRESSWELL-SMITH MURDER TRIAL BEGINS

Below the headline is a photo of me.

Next to my photo is an image of Martin. A graphic artist has created a slash that jags between our faces—like a rip through the page, symbolic of the deadly rift between us. My eyes burn. Inside my belly I begin to shake. He looks so vital in the photo. So alive. I loved him once. I loved him with all my heart.

A female cop in a pale-blue short-sleeve shirt and bulletproof vest, her face ruddy beneath her cap, yanks the man away from the car. I feel the first flicker of real panic.

Our driver slows. Uniformed officers battle to restrain the jostling onlookers as traffic cones are removed so we can park. People line the stairs all the way up to the Supreme Court entrance. At the top of the stairs, more reporters wait with mikes. One of them stands out—a woman in a bloodred jacket. She’s tall and her white-blonde hair gleams