The Perfect Impression (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book Thirteen)

By Blake Pierce

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

THE PERFECT IMPRESSION is book #13 in a new psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, which begins with The Perfect Wife, a #1 bestseller (and free download) with over 600 five-star reviews.

When a group of couple friends leave their suburban lives to go away together on a vacation to an exclusive resort, their partying gets out of control—and someone ends up dead. As Jessie digs deep into their lives and begins to unearth their secrets, she quickly realizes that their perfect lives are not what they seem—and that a murderer may be amongst them.

A fast-paced psychological suspense thriller with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding suspense, THE JESSIE HUNT series is a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.

Books #14 (THE PERFECT DECEIT) and #15 (THE PERFECT MISTRESS) are now also available.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blake Pierce
• Release date: Apr 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781094372075

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t h e   p e r f e c t   i m p r e s s i o n

(a jessie hunt psychological suspense—book 13)

b l a k e   p i e r c e

Blake Pierce

Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising fifteen books (and counting); of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising ten books (and counting); of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising three books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising three books (and counting).

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

Copyright © 2021 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright  George Mayer, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

A YEAR IN EUROPE

A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)

GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)

GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)

GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)

GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)

GIRL ERASED (Book #6)

LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)

DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)

CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)

MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)

CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)

MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)

ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES

LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)

LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)

LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)

LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)

LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)

LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)

LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)

LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)

LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)

LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)

THE AU PAIR SERIES

ALMOST GONE (Book#1)

ALMOST LOST (Book #2)

ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)

ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES

FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)

FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)

FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)

FACE OF FURY (Book #5)

FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)

A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)

THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)

THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)

THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)

THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)

THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)

THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)

THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)

THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)

THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)

THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)

THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)

CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

HOMECOMING (Book #5)

TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

IF SHE HID (Book #4)

IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

WATCHING (Book #1)

WAITING (Book #2)

LURING (Book #3)

TAKING (Book #4)

STALKING (Book #5)

KILLING (Book #6)

RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

ONCE GONE (Book #1)

ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

ONCE LURED (Book #4)

ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

ONCE PINED (Book #6)

ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

ONCE COLD (Book #8)

ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

ONCE LOST (Book #10)

ONCE BURIED (Book #11)

ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

A TRACE OF MUDER (Book #2)

A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

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

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

Everybody called him Tex.

His real name was Esteban Mejada. But because the room service waiter had a southern drawl, someone had given him the nickname, even though he’d said repeatedly that he was from Louisiana, not Texas. It only took him a few weeks of working at the island hotel to discover that both the drawl and the nickname, along with a few other factors, actually helped him when it came to tips.

He got off the elevator, ready to deliver a tray of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries to a guest waiting for him to serve them, and service her. Saturday nights almost always involved extra services. He wondered what his tips would be like if he had a flatter Midwestern accent.

Tex rounded the corner and headed down the hallway. He was halfway to the guest’s room when he heard a bloodcurdling scream. Moments later, a woman burst out of a room at the end of the hall wearing a pink jogging suit with several wine stains on it. Her eyes were wild and her face was filled with panicked intensity. She saw him and ran over, babbling incoherently.

I can’t understand you, he said.

The woman slid down the wall and slumped to the ground, so that she was seated cross-legged on the floor.

What happened? he tried again, kneeling down and placing the tray down beside her. She didn’t respond, only pointing at the door she’d come out of before beginning to cry softly.

Though his heart was beating rapidly, Esteban stood, gulped hard, and walked toward the door, which was slightly ajar. His own breath was heavy in his ears as he stood there, willing himself to take one more step. Finally, he nudged it all the way open with his shoe.

The room was dimly lit, with only a lamp in the corner of the room offering any illumination. He didn’t immediately see anything that would have caused such an intense reaction in the woman. His eyes adjusted, revealing a form on the bed. He couldn’t tell much more than that.

As the powerful feeling that something was horribly amiss in the room began to overtake him, he pulled a tissue out of his pocket, instinctively sensing that he should avoid getting his fingerprints on anything. He flicked on the light switch near the door. The second he did, the form became clear.

A woman was lying on her back in the middle of the bed. But that alone wasn’t what caused terror and disgust to well up in his chest.

Her eyes were open, staring blankly at the ceiling. She was naked and the sheets near her body were soaked in blood.

Sticking out of her chest was a knife.

The same one he had dropped off an hour ago, along with the rest of the room service meal she had requested.

CHAPTER ONE

Jessie Hunt knew something was off the second she woke up.

It took a moment to figure out what it was. Glancing over at her clock, she saw that it was 11:48 p.m. She blinked a few times and then it hit her. Normally she could feel the heat radiating off the man who slept beside her each night. But the bed was cooler than usual and it felt somehow lighter.

She reached out her hand delicately in the dark just in case she was wrong. But sure enough, Ryan wasn’t there. She grabbed her phone to search the room but he was nowhere to be found. She glanced over toward the bathroom. There was no sliver of light sneaking through underneath the door.

Trying to stay calm, she got up and put on her robe. She briefly considered taking her gun out of the bedside drawer but chose against it. There were a dozen credible reasons Ryan might not be in bed and there was no need to jump to conclusions. But after everything they’d been through, she couldn’t blame herself for the instinct. It’s not like serial killers hadn’t leapt out of the shadows in the past.

She slid her feet into her slippers and shuffled out of the room, armed only with her phone and a body full of adrenaline. At the last second, her apprehension got the better of her and she stepped back into the bedroom to grab one of Ryan’s canes.

As she made her way down the hall, holding the cane above her shoulder like a baseball bat, she reminded herself that her boyfriend might just be restless. Even though it had been six months since he was stabbed, and despite how well his rehabilitation was going, sometimes he was still overcome by anxiety that could only be subdued by middle-of-the night pacing.

She saw a dim light coming from the breakfast room and moved toward it as quietly as possible. Peeking around the corner, she saw Ryan hunched over the breakfast table, poring through a pile of papers. He looked lost in thought.

Sighing in relief, she put the cane down, resting it against the wall, out of sight. Then she coughed quietly so as not to startle him as she stepped into the room. He looked up, seeming to take a moment to connect the sound to the person in front of him.

Hi, he said.

Hi, she whispered back, not wanting to wake her sister, Hannah, who was hopefully fast asleep in her room. What’s up?

I think I may have a breakthrough in the case, he said excitedly.

Jessie walked over and sat down across from him at the table. It had only been a month since he’d started consulting for the LAPD, so she could understand his enthusiasm at being back in the mix. But she was worried about the effect of expending so much energy on a case instead of rehab. Of course, she couldn’t say that without sounding unsupportive, so she didn’t.

What did you find? she asked.

He smiled. Clearly, he’d hoped she would ask.

You know the case I was looking into, the one with the girl who was carved up? he asked.

Jessie nodded. He hadn’t mentioned any details beyond that to her, but she did know this was the case he hoped might justify involvement by Homicide Special Section. HSS was a specialized LAPD unit dedicated to solving cases that had high profiles or intense media scrutiny, often involving multiple victims or serial killers.

Ryan had led the unit before the stabbing attack that had put him in a coma for weeks and left him incapacitated for months after that. Now Captain Roy Decker, his boss and the man in charge of HSS, had tasked Ryan with finding cases that fit the profile of the unit, which was in danger of being shut down.

You mentioned the case vaguely, she said with the slightest hint of an edge. But that’s about all I know. You’ve been keeping all the details close to the vest.

He picked up on her tone.

I didn’t tell you much because I knew that if I did, you’d get as obsessed as me, he said apologetically, before tweaking her. I didn’t want to drag you down from your ivory tower.

That was a reference to Jessie’s work as an instructor at UCLA, where she’d been teaching criminal profiling for a semester now. Other than an occasional consulting gig of her own for the department, she’d spent the last six months leading a fairly stable, obsession-free lifestyle. Of course, one of those consulting gigs was just four weeks ago.

I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you all the way down there among the rabble, she teased back. Do you want to give me a hard time or do you want to tell me what you’re so clearly dying to share?

He smiled at her taunt. Jessie knew he loved it when she gave him crap and she loved to see the broad grin on his face. After worrying that he might not survive at all, and then watching him endure multiple painful, often disheartening months of trying to relearn basic functions like tying his shoes and holding a fork, he was finally starting to look more like his old self again.

Once a rock-hard, six-foot, 200-pound specimen, he’d lost over a quarter of his body weight and most of his strength after the attack. Now he was back up near 180 pounds. His color had returned, as had his easy, warm smile. He’d had his black hair cut short again and his kind, brown eyes seemed more alert and focused every day. He was almost back to resembling the detective she’d been so taken with when he came to speak at her class while she was working on her master’s. The simple sight of him reviewing paperwork on a pending case, doing something she feared he might never be able again, warmed her heart.

I want to tell you, he admitted.

Then go ahead, she said.

I found another, older case that makes me think there might be a pattern.

Back up, she said. You’ve been so cagey that I don’t have enough details about the first case to know what might constitute a pattern.

Right, he said, remembering how little he’d told her. So the original case that caught my eye was from last month and involved a twenty-six-year-old female named Jenavieve Holt. She had portions of her skin sliced off in what appeared to be a methodical manner. Also, it looks like she was awake the whole time.

As he spoke, something in the back of Jessie’s brain lit up, like a dim bulb slowly flickering to life. She said nothing as he continued.

It seemed very meticulous, Ryan said, as if the killer had planned the thing well in advance and taken his time. Even as a stand-alone murder, it was troubling. But it felt like it was conducted with such confidence and patience that I doubted it was the first time the killer had done something like this.

Good instinct, Jessie said, waiting to see where he would go with this.

So I started looking through other recent cases and found one that had fallen through the cracks. About four months ago, a young guy named Hartung was found in a similar situation—skin cut off in long pieces, also seemingly while he was still awake.

Why did it fall through the cracks? Jessie asked.

Because on the way to the morgue, the driver got in an accident and the van caught on fire. By the time they got Hartung’s body, it was burned to a crisp. The autopsy was useless. Worse, the accident obscured the horror of the killing. There was an internal investigation. It turned out the driver had been drinking. That whole mess took precedence and the file got buried under more pressing ones, so the final medical examiner’s report, complete with the original crime scene photos, wasn’t filed until the day before yesterday. I got it a few hours ago. And it looks just like the Holt case. In both instances, it appears that the killer used something like an X-Acto knife.

The dim bulb of familiarity in Jessie’s head suddenly started blazing. She heard herself gasp slightly. Ryan looked up at her.

What is it? he asked.

I have to show you something, she said, getting up and leading him down the hall to her study.

It hadn’t always been hers. Neither had the house. This used to be the home of Garland Moses, the most celebrated criminal profiler on the West Coast for over a quarter century and Jessie’s personal mentor.

He had willed the house to her upon his death, which occurred at the hands of her ex-husband, Kyle Voss. Kyle was also responsible for stabbing Ryan in the chest. Ryan, along with Jessie and Hannah, had barely survived that encounter. Kyle did not.

They arrived at the door to the study and Jessie used the handprint verification pad to unlock it. Once inside, Jessie moved over to the safe hidden in the wall behind the large, framed print of the Bogart movie The Big Sleep. She pulled out a thick file and dropped it on the desk between them.

Merely looking at it made her uneasy. Suddenly whatever remaining sleepiness she’d felt was gone. That file held a record of evil even she had rarely seen and just touching it made her want to shower.

This material was here when I moved in, she said. It’s Garland’s. You won’t be shocked to learn that he held onto a few files for cases he was never able to solve. Some are from his days as an FBI profiler. A few are from his time consulting for LAPD after he was technically retired. Most are just a few pages long, synopses really; except for this one.

What is it?

You remember the Night Hunter, right? she asked.

Sure, Ryan replied. You don’t have to be a profiler to know that case—notorious serial killer who wreaked havoc along the eastern seaboard for years in the 1980s and ’90s.

Correct. And you know that Garland spent his last years at the Bureau hunting for the guy, found him in fact.

That’s where he got all those scars, Ryan recalled, clearly thinking of Garland’s dead, vulnerable body on a medical table at the morgue after his death. He’d been covered in them.

Yes, Jessie confirmed. He eventually caught up to the Night Hunter. Unfortunately, the killer got the upper hand on him. He surprised him in his own condo, capturing and torturing Garland for two days, almost killing him before he was able to free himself and use the killer’s own machete against him before the man escaped into the night. Garland gave him several deep gashes on his limbs and sliced a cut horizontally along the guy’s entire forehead. He always thought one of the reasons the Night Hunter bailed that night was that he was half-blinded by the blood pouring into his eyes.

I thought that the authorities said that he likely died of his injuries in their fight, Ryan said.

They did, Jessie replied, but if this file is any indication, Garland wasn’t so sure.

Okay, Ryan said slowly. But where are you going with this? Even if he had survived his fight with Garland, wouldn’t he be in his seventies by now? And why would he suddenly start killing again? Besides, I thought the Night Hunter was more of the dismembering type, what with the machete and all. This doesn’t seem like his M.O.

All excellent points, Jessie said as she rifled through the file and pulled out a sheet of paper near the end. And normally I wouldn’t have even thought to connect them, except for this.

She tossed