BLOOD WORK: a John Jordan Mystery (John Jordan Mysteries Book 12) Read online

  Blood Work

  John Jordan Mysteries, Volume 12

  Michael Lister

  Published by Pulpwood Press, 2016.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  BLOOD WORK

  First edition. November 24, 2016.

  Copyright © 2016 Michael Lister.

  ISBN: 978-1536532814

  Written by Michael Lister.

  Click here to receive your FREE Companion Guide to the series.

  Click here to receive your FREE Companion Guide to the series.

  Praise for the John Jordan Series

  "Michael Lister may be the author of the most unique series running in mystery fiction. The Body and the Blood proves that once again. It crackles with tension and authenticity." Michael Connelly

  Publishers Weekly Starred Review:

  "In Lister's superior fourth book featuring cop-turned-prison chaplain John Jordan (after 2006's story collection Flesh and Blood) . . . A plausible resolution concludes this first-rate locked-room mystery."

  Kirkus Starred Review:

  "A realistic drama and surprising character depth. The spiritual dimension of John’s inner life adds a depth that’s often absent in the mystery genre. A realistically portrayed prison setting and a cast of characters depicted with complexity and nuance together form a quietly effective character-study/whodunit."

  "Eerie and cinematic, John Jordan manages to be deeply flawed yet utterly appealing. Lister, with his gift for exploring the nuances of human relationships, creates a vivid and multi-faceted supporting cast, each character finely-wrought, each portrayal unflinching. Suspenseful, complex and original, a page-turner with a soul." Lisa Unger

  Florida Book Award-winning series Florida Weekly called “a treasure of contemporary literature–suspenseful, provocative, and unsettling,”

  "Michael Lister writes one of the most ambitious and unusual crime fiction series going. Not for the faint of heart, it's Heart of Darkness meets The Shawshank Redemption. Read this book and see what crime fiction is capable of." Julia Spencer-Fleming

  "Chaplain John Jordan is one of crime fiction's most original heroes, and his creator, Michael Lister is one of the genre's freshest new voices." PJ Parrish

  Things you should know about the John Jordan Series

  This award-winning series is one of the most unique, respected, and well-reviewed mystery series being published today.

  It has received several Starred Reviews from respected journals such as Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus, won a Florida Book Award, and counts among its many fans Michael Connelly, Lisa Unger, Margaret Coel, PJ Parish, and Julia Spencer-Fleming.

  It features a conflicted detective—an ex-cop with ties to Atlanta who works as a prison chaplain in Florida. He’s a man of mercy and justice, a compassionate, open-minded minister and a smart, relentless detective.

  These are not religious books. They are crime novels. If you are a religious Fundamentalist and/or are turned off by realistic depictions of criminal investigation, law enforcement, the prison experience, and adult life in general, this series is not for you.

  The John Jordan mystery series has it all—character-driven, realistic and gritty mysteries, thoughtful thrillers, and the hero’s journey of a good man trying to be even better, as he helps others along the way. It’s a dynamic, electrifying series in which no two books are the same.

  Like John Jordan, the author, Michael Lister, was a prison chaplain with the state of Florida before leaving to write full-time.

  Though the author loves all the books in the series, some of his personal favorites are The Body and the Blood, Innocent Blood, Blood Sacrifice, Blood Moon, Blood Cries.

  Power in the Blood was the first fiction author Michael Lister ever wrote. It came out nearly 20 years ago. We beleive, as does the author, that each book in the series gets better.

  Though it’s recommended, the books in the John Jordan series don’t have to be read in order.

  All the books in the series are novels—mystery, thrillers, whodunits—except for Flesh and Blood, which is a collection of short stories featuring temporal and metaphysical mysteries. If you don’t care for short stories, feel free to skip Flesh and Blood and continue with the novels—starting with the fourth and one of the author’s favorites, The Body and the Blood.

  The 7th book in the series, Innocent Blood, is a prequel going back to John’s very first investigation. Though the 7th in the series, it can be read first or seventh since it’s a prequel.

  The 10th book in the series, Blood Cries, is the second in the “Atlanta Years” series within a series following the 7th book Innocent Blood. It can be read 2nd or 10th.

  The 11th John Jordan novel, Blood Oath, brings many new changes.

  The 12th John Jordan novel, Blood Work, has John helping his dad investigate a cold case involving Ted Bundy.

  All of the John Jordan novels are available in high quality hardback and paperback editions. Blood Sacrifice is also available in audiobook. All John Jordan titles will be available in audiobook editions soon.

  Be sure to join Michael's Readers' Group for news, updates, and special deals on the John Jordan series.

  We hope you will enjoy all the books in the John Jordan series, and like us, eagerly await each new one.

  Books by Michael Lister

  (John Jordan Novels)

  Power in the Blood

  Blood of the Lamb

  Flesh and Blood

  (Special Introduction by Margaret Coel)

  The Body and the Blood

  Blood Sacrifice

  Rivers to Blood

  Innocent Blood

  (Special Introduction by Michael Connelly)

  Blood Money

  Blood Moon

  Blood Cries

  Blood Oath

  Blood Work

  Written in Blood Volume 1

  Written in Blood Volume 2

  Written in Blood Volume 3

  Written in Blood Volume 4

  Six John Jordan Mysteries

  Twelve John Jordan Mysteries

  (Jimmy “Soldier” Riley Novels)

  The Big Goodbye

  The Big Beyond

  The Big Hello

  The Big Bout

  In a Spider’s Web (short story)

  The Big Book of Noir

  (Merrick McKnight / Reggie Summers Novels)

  Thunder Beach

  A Certain Retribution

  (Remington James Novels)

  Double Exposure

  (includes intro by Michael Connelly)

  Separation Anxiety

  (Sam Michaels / Daniel Davis Novels)

  Burnt Offerings

  Separation Anxiety

  (Love Stories)

  Carrie’s Gift

  (Short Story Collections)

  North Florida Noir

  Florida Heat Wave

  Delta Blues

  Another Quiet Night in Desparation

  (The Meaning Series)

  The Meaning of Jesus

  Meaning Every Moment

  The Meaning of Life in Movies

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Michael Lister

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

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sp; 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

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Chapter Fifty-three

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Chapter Fifty-five

  Chapter Fifty-six

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  Also By Michael Lister

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Before being arrested, tried, convicted, and ultimately executed by the state of Florida, Ted Bundy, perhaps the most notorious serial killer in American history, cut a bloody swath across my part of the Panhandle.

  It began at dawn on Sunday, January 8, 1978, when Theodore Robert Bundy arrived at the Trailways bus station in Tallahassee and began to blend in among the tens of thousands of college students returning for the spring semester.

  After only a week in Florida’s capitol city, in the early morning hours of January 15th, shrouded by dark of night, Ted Bundy entered the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University through a rear door with a faulty lock.

  In less than fifteen minutes, and within earshot of some thirty potential witnesses, he viciously assaulted four young coeds.

  Sometime around two forty-five in the morning, he bludgeoned Margaret Bowman with a piece of oak firewood while she slept, after which he garroted her with a pair of nylon stockings.

  Moments later, he stole into Lisa Levy’s bedroom and beat her unconscious, strangled her, tore one of her nipples nearly off, bit her so deeply in her left buttocks that it left his bite mark impression, and sexually assaulted her with a hairspray bottle.

  A few moments after that, he entered the adjoining bedroom occupied by Kathy Kleiner and broke her jaw and deeply lacerated her shoulder.

  A short while later, he snuck into Karen Chandler’s room and brutally assaulted her, knocking her teeth out, breaking her jaw, crushing her finger, and leaving her with a concussion.

  In less time than it takes water to boil, Ted Bundy savagely attacked four young women inside the Chi Omega sorority house, murdering two of them, but he wasn’t finished yet.

  Eight blocks away, Bundy broke into a basement apartment and attacked another FSU student, Cheryl Thomas, dislocating her shoulder and fracturing her jaw and skull in five places, leaving her with permanent deafness and an equilibrium complication that ended her dance career.

  On February 8th, Bundy stole an FSU van and drove east on I-10 to Jacksonville, where he unsuccessfully attempted to get fourteen-year-old Leslie Ann Parmenter into the van with him.

  On February 9th, in Lake City on his way back to Tallahassee, Bundy abducted twelve-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach from Lake City Junior High School.

  On February 12th, Bundy stole yet another car and left Tallahassee, heading west on I-10 across our part of the Panhandle for Pensacola.

  On February 15th at one in the morning, Bundy was pulled over by Pensacola police officer David Lee after the Volkswagen Beetle he was driving came back stolen in a wants and warrants check.

  This is what we know of what Ted Bundy did, but what about what we don’t know?

  Before his execution in Florida’s electric chair in 1989, Bundy confessed to killing some thirty women in seven states, but in a recently released memoir, Bundy’s former attorney, John Henry Browne, revealed Bundy confided in him that it was more than three times that.

  Did Ted Bundy kill over one hundred women?

  If so, when? And where? And who?

  What did he do, who did he attack and kill between arriving in Tallahassee on January 8th and the slaughter at Chi Omega on January 15th?

  Who did he murder and rape between his attack of Cheryl Thomas on January 15th and his abduction of Kimberly Diane Leach on February 9th?

  Who did he brutalize and butcher between leaving Tallahassee on February 12th and his arrest near Pensacola on February 15th?

  Could Ted Bundy be responsible for the disappearance of Janet Leigh Lester near Marianna in the early morning hours of February 12th following her Valentine’s Day Sweethearts’ Ball, as he made his way west on I-10?

  Could he be the monster responsible for the open, unsolved case that devastated an entire town, utterly shattered two families, and still haunts Jack Jordan, my dad and the man who many believe let the killer get away?

  Chapter Two

  Anna and I are making love when the call arrives.

  The buzz buzz of my phone on the nightstand in our dim, hushed bedroom illuminates a small area around it and joins our breathing and intimate expressions as the loudest sounds in the room.

  “Get it if you need to,” Anna whispers. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I shake my head. “Absolutely not.”

  Our first attempt at making love this evening had been interrupted by Taylor’s upset little cries coming from the baby monitor on Anna’s nightstand, and we had only recently returned to this secret sacred sanctuary where we alone worship.

  “What if it’s—”

  I glance at the number being displayed.

  “It’s not Johanna,” I say. “Everyone else can wait.”

  As an investigator with the Gulf County Sheriff’s Department and a chaplain at Gulf Correctional Institution, I get a lot of emergency calls. But it’s as the dad of a young daughter who lives with her mother much of the time that I most often check my phone before the first vibration is concluded.

  “But—” she begins.

  “Homicide, kidnapping, hostage situation, riot . . . doesn’t matter.”

  She smiles up at me. “Thank you.”

  It’s August in Florida and hot even inside our air-conditioned home with a fan and window unit running, and a small bead of sweat rolls down my nose and drops onto her forehead before I can catch it.

  “Sorry,” I say, and ineffectively attempt to wipe my face on my bare shoulder.

  “Don’t be. Clearly I adore your body fluids and I love it when our sweat mixes.”

  “But you’re not sweating,” I say.

  “Only because you’re doing all the work. We can flip around if you want me to sweat on you.”

  The incessant buzzing on the hard surface of the bedside table has a certain relentless rhythm to it.

  “Did you start . . .” Anna begins. “Are you moving in sync with the vibrations of the phone?”

  “Not consciously,” I say with a smile, “but I think maybe I am.”

  She laughs that laugh that lightens the world.

  Our lovemaking is many things—sometimes playful, others intense, sometimes gentle, others aggressive, sometimes sacred, others profane. At times we talk and laugh our way through the early stages of our entanglements. At others the only noises able to escape our mouths are uninte
lligible expressions of ecstasy and private words whispered from passion-hoarse voices.

  This evening our lovemaking is tender, nurturing, restorative.

  When my phone stops vibrating, I return the full weight and focus of my attention to the woman I have been in love with since we were kids, casting aside all thoughts of the call, who it might be, what they might need.

  Being intimate with Anna is my favorite thing in all the wide world, and everything else I feel and experience while one with her is infused with gratitude.

  Looking down at her bottomless brown eyes, I feel as if I could dive right into them and never resurface, and in a very real way that’s exactly what I’m doing.

  “Some women go their entire lives without ever being looked at the way you look at me,” she says.

  “Some go their entire lives without having sex to the rhythm of a vibrating cellphone,” I say.

  “If they’re lucky, neither group knows what they’re missing,” she says.

  Our eyes lock again.

  She had confided in me near the beginning of our relationship how much she loves our intense eye contact while we make love and that Chris, her ex, would never look at her, would never open the windows to his soul while in the vulnerable state of sexual intimacy.

  My phone vibrates again to notify me whoever called left a voicemail message, but it’s as desultory as the swishing, swirling sound the little window unit and box fan are making.

  “Who was it?” Anna asks. “Who doesn’t know how to leave a tender moment alone?”