It Only Takes a Moment (Key News Thrillers, 11) - Hardcover

Clark, Mary Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061286095 ISBN 13: 9780061286094

Publisher: William Morrow, 2008

Synopsis

The paperback edition of the second book in Mary Jane Clark’s New York Times bestselling series.

SELLING POINTS

• Mary Jane Clark is a household name. Her books consistently place on the New York Times bestseller list and the hardcover edition was no exception.

• Mary Jane Clark writes great stories. Her suspense is thrilling and her characters leap off the page.

• With more than three decades of working in broadcast television, Mary Jane Clark brings personal knowledge to her mysteries.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Jane Clark worked at CBS News for nearly three decades. Her twelve KEY News media thrillers were inspired by that experience. Envisioning the Piper Donovan/Wedding Cake mystery series, Mary Jane enrolled in cake-decorating classes and researched unique wedding locations. The daughter of an FBI agent and a mother who customized cakes for the neighborhood kids when she was growing up, Mary Jane has two grown children and splits her time between New Jersey and Florida.

From the Back Cover

A seasoned television professional—the host of the top-rated KEY News morning show—Eliza Blake has reported on tragedies many times from behind the anchor's desk . . . and she has survived devastating crises of her own. But only now is she learning the true meaning of terror when her seven-year-old daughter, Janie, is kidnapped from summer camp. Forced to suffer through a mother's worst nightmare in the glare of the camera lights, Eliza finds herself trapped in a media circus as the police and FBI explore every avenue . . . and every lead winds up at a dead end.

But Eliza isn't going to just sit around and wait for answers—because every minute wasted in the desperate race to reveal the shocking motives of a ruthless abductor brings a frightened little girl one minute closer to her death.

Reviews

New York City news anchor Eliza Blake, now back at the morning TV show KEY to America, pays a price for her high media profile in this riveting novel of suspense from bestseller Clark (When Day Breaks). When kidnappers seize Eliza's seven-year-old daughter, Janie, and Eliza's Hispanic housekeeper on their way home from camp in New Jersey, Eliza's comfortable life turns into a living nightmare. The FBI, local law enforcement and Eliza's news team work around the clock to discover the identities and locations of the kidnappers. When a psychic arrives at Eliza's doorstep, claiming to know details of the kidnapping that weren't released to the press, Eliza is convinced that the psychic can help find Janie. Suspicious letters, ransom notes and mysterious clues heighten the suspense. A multitude of red herrings will keep the reader guessing to the shocking conclusion. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

KEY News anchor Eliza Blake is back hosting the morning show, and she couldn’t be happier, since working mornings means more time with her eight-year-old daughter, Janie. But when Janie and the nanny fail to come home from camp one day, Eliza’s worst fear—that her very public persona has put her family at risk—is realized. Could the kidnapper be an obsessed fan? In Clark’s trademark fashion, suspects and red herrings proliferate, and all the while the guilty party is within arm’s reach. Supporting roles by Eliza’s boyfriend, Mack, and her KEY News co-workers help make this an entertaining entry in a pleasant if formulaic series. --Mary Frances Wilkens

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It Only Takes a Moment

A Novel of SuspenseBy Mary Jane Clark

William Morrow

Copyright © 2008 Mary Jane Clark
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-06-128609-4

Chapter One

Look!" Janie called out. "She's wearing it, Mrs. Garcia. Mommy's wearing the bracelet."

Carmen Garcia glanced up from gathering the child's shiny brown hair in a ponytail. The middle-aged woman leaned forward to get a better look at the image on the television screen. Eliza Blake, clad in a cornflower-colored blouse that complemented her blue eyes, was smiling from the set of KEY to America as she and a cookbook author demonstrated how to organize a summer barbecue. As the camera cut to a close-up of her hand rubbing a mixture of spices on the meat, the red, yellow, and blue plastic beads that encircled her wrist came into clear view.

"S." Mrs. Garcia smiled. "Your mam likes the bracelet you made at camp very much."

"How do you say 'bracelet' in Spanish?" Janie asked.

"Pulsera," Mrs. Garcia answered. "Now, hurry. Eat your breakfast. The bus will be here soon."

Janie, wearing navy blue shorts and a white Camp Musquapsink T-shirt, took a seat at the kitchen table while Daisy, the yellow Labrador retriever, positioned herself at the child's feet. Janie dutifully ate the cereal and chunks of cantaloupe that Mrs. Garcia had put out for her while the housekeeper consulted the calendar hanging on the refrigerator door.

"It's Native American Day," Mrs. Garcia announced. "You have archery and horseback riding."

"I know," said Janie, making a face. "I hate archery. It's too hard."

"The more you practice, the easier it will get. Do your best, mi hija. Just do the best you can. That makes your mam happy."

"Bows and arrows are dumb," declared Janie. "But we're going to have our faces painted. That will be fun." The little girl's eyes widened with pride. "And you know what else? Musquapsink is a Native American name."

"It is?"

"So is Ho-Ho-Kus," Janie reported, proud that she could teach Mrs. Garcia something. "There are lots of Native American names around here. Pascack and Hackensack and Kinderkamack. My counselor told us."

Mrs. Garcia watched proprietarily as Janie tackled her bowl of cereal. She was such a healthy-looking child. A light suntan and a sprinkling of freckles covered her cheeks and straight little nose. Her blue eyes sparkled, just like her mother's did. Her permanent teeth seemed to be coming in white and, so far, straight. Her legs and arms, which protruded from the day camp uniform, were well-toned and sturdy.

Feeling Mrs. Garcia's eyes on her, Janie looked up. "What are you staring at?" she asked. "You, mi hija. I'm staring at you, tesoro." "What does that mean?" asked Janie, not familiar with the Spanish word. "It means 'treasure,'" Mrs. Garcia explained. "You are your mam's tesoro. She loves you more than anything."

The black van cruised slowly on the gently winding road that rimmed the pond. Passing stately colonials and sprawling ranch-style homes separated by acres of rolling lawns and lush landscaping, the driver pulled over to a carefully chosen spot between two houses, confident that the van would not be visible from inside either dwelling. He turned off the engine.

"How ya doin'?" the driver called out his open window, lifting his paper coffee cup in salute to the workman who drove past in a red truck. In the weeks he'd been staking out this neighborhood, the driver knew the last thing that would ever look out of place here was a service vehicle. Every morning, landscapers, painters, electricians, and carpenters traveled through the quiet streets on their way to their jobs of maintaining the homes of the wealthy. The homeowners worked on Wall Street or were officers of major corporations or had successful companies of their own. They didn't have the inclination to mow their grass or the desire to spend their weekends making home improvements. They hired people to do those things. His van wouldn't be noted as out of the ordinary at all. In fact, in all the days he had been canvassing the neighborhood, not once had any of the patrolling police cars stopped him. The driver glanced at his watch. Anytime now. He sipped his lukewarm coffee and waited, keeping his eyes trained straight ahead at the brick Federal-style colonial way down at the end of the road.

"They're late this morning," he muttered. "Wouldn't you know they'd be late this morning?"

Finally, the yellow minibus came into view. "There it is," he said, crushing the empty cup in his hand. "There's the bus."

The driver reached out to turn the key in the ignition.

"Hold on," said a voice from the back of the van. "Don't rush it. We've got plenty of time. We've planned this carefully and we want to do this thing right."

The horn of the camp bus sounded.

Janie took a last swallow of milk, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and wrapped her arms around her dog's neck for one more hug. She ran to the front door and waited for Mrs. Garcia to enter the code to disarm the home-security system. Mrs. Garcia stood guard in the open doorway until Janie had safely boarded and the bus drove away.

The housekeeper went back to the kitchen, cleared the bowls, cups, and silverware from the table and put them in the dishwasher. As she stood at the sink and washed her hands, Mrs. Garcia looked out the window, noticing that the geraniums were sorely in need of deadheading. She unlocked the French doors, slid back the screen, and walked out onto the slate patio. After she had separated the brownish buds from the white, healthy ones, Mrs. Garcia returned to the kitchen to drop the spent flowers in the trash.

"Come on, Daisy," Mrs. Garcia said, filling the dog's bowl with water. "Let's get you outside."

The yellow Lab followed the housekeeper out to the rear of the property where a shingled doghouse was positioned under a canopy of leaves. Mrs. Garcia put the bowl of water on the ground and hooked a long leash, designed to provide a wide range of movement, to the dog's collar.

Then, Mrs. Garcia went back into the house, pulling the screen door shut but leaving the French doors open to let in some fresh summer-morning air.

The black van pulled directly into the driveway, coming to rest at the side of the house. Two figures dressed in overalls and work boots emerged. They walked purposefully around to the backyard, pausing to pull latex masks over their heads.

"All set?" hissed the smaller of the two from behind an Olive Oyl mask that sported beady eyes and jet black hair pulled back in a bun.

The other, as Popeye the sailor, stuck up his thumb. "Yep," he said firmly. "We aren't leaving anything to chance. I've been watching her for weeks and, on nice days, she leaves the back door open in the morning."

A dog started barking from the rear of the property. The yellow Lab ran toward them but was pulled back as the leash became taut.

"Don't worry. That damned dog is always barking," said Popeye. "The housekeeper isn't going to think anything of it."

Silently, Olive Oyl slid back the screen door. From inside the house, the telephone rang. Carefully and quietly, they followed in the direction of the voice that answered.

"S, Mrs. Blake. Janie got off to camp all right." Mrs. Garcia's voice could be heard coming from upstairs.

The intruders made their way to the staircase.

"Everything is fine here." The housekeeper's voice sounded louder. They climbed to the second floor.

"Okay, I will see you when you get home, Mrs. Blake."

Mrs. Garcia put the phone back in its cradle. She finished making the bed, fluffing the pillows and smoothing the coverlet. As she straightened up, she glanced in the mirror over the double dresser and saw two masked figures approaching her from behind.

Mrs. Garcia lunged for the table at the side of the bed, but before she could reach the security button designed to summon help, Popeye pulled her back and threw her onto the mattress. Olive Oyl joined in, helping to pin her down. Together, they flipped Mrs. Garcia over so that she was lying with her face pressed against the coverlet, her air supply blocked. Using all her strength, the housekeeper struggled to free herself.

"Don't fight me, lady," said Popeye as he tied Mrs. Garcia's arms behind her back. "Save your energy. You've got a long day ahead of you."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from It Only Takes a Momentby Mary Jane Clark Copyright © 2008 by Mary Jane Clark. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061286095
• ISBN 13: 9780061286094
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352