The Perfect Couple (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book Twenty)

By 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 twenty four books; 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 fifteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising eleven books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the VALERIE LAW mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the PAIGE KING 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blake Pierce
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094375380

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t h e   p e r f e c t

c o u p l e

(a jessie hunt psychological suspense—book 20)

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 twenty four books; 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 fifteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising eleven books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the VALERIE LAW mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the PAIGE KING 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 © 2022 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 sergiophoto, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

PAIGE KING MYSTERY SERIES

THE GIRL HE PINED (Book #1)

THE GIRL HE CHOSE (Book #2)

THE GIRL HE TOOK (Book #3)

VALERIE LAW MYSTERY SERIES

NO MERCY (Book #1)

NO PITY (Book #2)

NO FEAR (Book #3

RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

HER LAST FEAR (Book #4)

HER LAST CHOICE (Book #5)

HER LAST BREATH (Book #6)

AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

CITY OF GHOSTS (Book #4)

CITY OF DEATH (Book #5)

CITY OF VICE (Book #6)

A YEAR IN EUROPE

A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)

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)

GIRL, FORSAKEN (Book #7)

GIRL, TRAPPED (Book #8)

GIRL, EXPENDABLE (Book #9)

GIRL, ESCAPED (Book #10)

GIRL, HIS (Book #11)

LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)

ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)

ALREADY TAKEN (Book #6)

ALREADY CHOSEN (Book #7)

ALREADY LOST (Book #8)

ALREADY HIS (Book #9)

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)

LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)

LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)

LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)

LEFT TO LOATHE (Book #14)

LEFT TO HARM (Book #15)

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)

THE PERFECT COUPLE (Book #20)

THE PERFECT MURDER (Book #21)

THE PERFECT HUSBAND (Book #22)

THE PERFECT SCANDAL (Book #23)

THE PERFECT MASK (Book #24)

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 MURDER (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

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

Even for Suzie, the house was daunting.

As an interior decorator to some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in Los Angeles, it took a lot for Suzie Pearlman to feel intimidated by a home. But this place was something else. After she parked her car across the street and made her way up the long path to the front door, she tried to make sense of how a home like this was in this neighborhood.

Unlike many of the communities she operated in, like Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica, and Manhattan Beach, which was just a few miles south of here, El Segundo wasn’t necessarily known for its mansions.

Like Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach, it was a coastal community, but its reputation was far less ostentatious. In fact, much of the southern section of town was comprised of an industrial zone, with warehouses, shipping centers, and of course, the massive refinery housing the municipality’s largest employer, Metron Oil.

That’s why she was here. Just last year, Roger Whitmore, a partner at Daniels, Kramer, Malone & Whitmore and senior outside counsel to one of one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, had decided to move from his Beverly Hills home and relocate among the people, living closer to the middle-class folks who worked for his firm’s biggest client.

Suzie rang the doorbell and waited, looking around at the nearby homes, many of which might also be classified as mansions, but none of which were as impressive as the half-block long, four story domicile that looked more like a boutique hotel than an actual home. It was situated on a cliff, with a clear view of Dockweiler Beach and the Pacific Ocean, less than a quarter mile west.

After a good minute without an answer, she rang the bell again. It might take a while to get to the door in a house as big as this. She had initially balked at accepting the meeting with Patricia Whitmore. That is, until she discovered who the woman was married to and checked out some photos of their place. Including their two children, only four people lived in the 5200 square foot property with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. There was a lot of potential decorating to be done.

Suzie, realizing it had been another full minute without a response, was about to ring the bell a third time when the door opened, revealing a pretty, young blonde woman with ivory skin. Her curly hair, which had obviously been hurriedly brushed, was all over the place and there was sleep in her eyes. She was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.

May I help you? she asked in an accent that Suzie guessed was Irish.

Yes. My name is Suzanne Pearlman. I have a 9 a.m. appointment with Mrs. Whitmore to discuss some design ideas for the house.

Oh, right, the girl replied, her eyes suddenly brightening. You’re the decorator. Trish mentioned you’d be coming by. Come on in.

She opened the door wide and waved toward a large room beyond the foyer.

I’m Shannon, she said, her burr more pronounced than earlier, the Whitmores’ au pair. I apologize for my appearance. There’s no school today and the kids are at a sleepover, so I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in a bit. I suspect Trish is doing the same. If you want to make yourself comfortable, I’ll go get her.

Sure, Suzie replied. Do you mind directing me to the kitchen? That was the room that Mrs. Whitmore said she wanted to prioritize first. It would be nice to get a sense of it before she comes along.

Not a problem, Shannon said, pointing past the living room to a darkened room in the distance. Can you find your own way from here?

Of course, Suzie said, annoyed at the question. She could find her way around any house, no matter how big. That was what she did.

Right then, Shannon said, seemingly oblivious to her misstep, settle in. Be back in a bit.

With that, she headed toward the stairs. Suzie wondered how many flights she’d have to take to get the Whitmores’ bedroom. When Shannon was gone, she started toward the kitchen. Without the girl around, she noticed just how silent the house was. She walked along the carpeted living room floor, which muffled her footsteps.

As she approached the kitchen, she got an unsettled feeling, as if she was being watched. There was no logical reason for it. The home was open and sunny, but something felt off to her. She was just about to enter the kitchen when she caught sight of herself in a mirror on the wall.

She sighed. At forty-two, she was doing her best to keep up appearances, but the years of scrambling for, and then servicing, difficult clients were starting to weigh her down. She was reaching the point where she might have to consider more drastic measures than weekly facials to keep the lines on her face from becoming more pronounced. Her regularly-dyed, brown hair was looking brittle. Her eyes were slightly red, irritated by her contacts on this gusty, early March day. And her thrice-weekly workouts at the gym with her personal trainer were barely keeping the cellulite at bay. She felt exhausted just thinking about it all.

Suzie forcibly ripped her eyes away from the mirror and returned her attention to the kitchen. As she entered, the feeling that she wasn’t alone quickly returned. Somewhere in the house she could hear a clock ticking loudly. In the distance, someone had just started up a lawnmower.

She looked around for the light switch and flicked it on, revealing a massive kitchen with a center island as large as a compact car. There were two double ovens and a giant, Sub-Zero refrigerator. The stove had eight electric burners. All the appliances were modern and the setup was impeccably tasteful. If she was honest, Suzie didn’t think the place needed much work at all.

She got out her small notebook to take a few notes when the clammy sensation that there was someone else nearby overcame her again. She was tempted to return to the foyer and wait for Shannon to bring Trish Whitmore downstairs, but she shook off the discomfort and began writing ideas down.

That’s when she heard the dripping sound. She checked the sink but nothing was coming from the faucet. She glanced over her shoulder, suddenly fearing that someone was behind her, their sweat trickling onto the floor. But there was no one there.

She put the notebook back in her pocket and carefully moved around the island, her eyes darting everywhere. She had no logical reason to be so jumpy and yet, she couldn’t stop herself from eyeing the knife rack on the counter. She briefly considered grabbing one for self-defense.

When she rounded the island to the other side the kitchen, she realized what had been making the dripping sound. For a full second before she reacted, she was able to silently process what she saw.

On the floor in front of her was a woman, though Suzie couldn’t determine that from her face, which was mangled beyond identification. Instead it was the long hair and sports bra that gave it away. What was left of the woman’s face had been pulverized into a globby mess of blood, bone, and skin. Her skull was cracked open at the forehead. The dripping Suzie had heard was droplets of blood falling regularly from the woman’s right earlobe to the kitchen floor. Next to her head, was a long-handled meat tenderizer. Suzie began to scream.

She wasn’t sure when Shannon the au pair arrived, but at some point she was conscious of the girl standing beside her. She too was screaming. That was the last thing Suzie remembered before passing out.

CHAPTER ONE

Jessie fought the urge to call again.

She was supposed to be working on her weekly criminal profiling seminar, which was held every Wednesday morning at UCLA. After all, it was already Monday and she still had to nail down the last details of her presentation.

But as she sat at the breakfast table of her mid-Wilshire house, staring blankly at her laptop, her mind kept drifting back to her call with Hannah yesterday. It was actually her seventeen-year-old, younger half-sister who had called her, a rarity these days, and not just because she was currently staying at a residential psychiatric facility.

Don’t freak out, Hannah said to start the conversation, but someone died here last night and I wanted to make sure you knew about it.

What? Jessie asked, trying to keep her voice level. No one had said a word to her.

I’m sure Dr. Lemmon would have called you, Hannah said, referring to the psychiatrist who they both saw regularly and who had originally convinced her to enter the Seasons Wellness Center in Malibu, but I heard she was admitted to Cedars-Sinai yesterday with kidney stones. So I thought I should update you before you got a scary call from the administration.

What happened? Jessie asked, hoping that her sister’s calm tone wasn’t merely a cover for possible distress just under the surface.

A girl named Meredith Bartlett was found in her room last night. It looks like she committed suicide with a shard of glass.

Oh God, Jessie muttered. Even in a secure psychiatric facility, her little sister wasn’t safe from constant death. Did you know her?

Just a little, Hannah said. She seemed nice.

I can be there in an hour, Jessie told her. I was going to come out for our session today anyway.

They’re actually pushing all of today’s sessions, Hannah said. The local sheriff is still wrapping up his investigation and the staff here wants to focus on making sure everyone is engaging in self-care. It’s got a lot of people pretty torn up.

Okay, Jessie said not wanting to push, should I come out tomorrow instead?

Why don’t we hold off? Hannah said. I’ll get in touch with you once the hospital’s given the all clear to re-start sessions. Or maybe Dr. Lemmon will feel well enough to reach out to you directly by then. I should go. There’s a line of people waiting to use the phone.

Let me know if there’s anything I can do, Jessie said. I love you.

Talk soon, Hannah replied before hanging up.

That conversation was yesterday morning, Sunday, when Jessie and Ryan had been relaxing at Peninsula Resort in Palos Verdes after solving a case. And though an administrator with Seasons had called a few hours later to offer a perfunctory, mostly useless explication of the prior night’s events and the facility’s temporary hold on visitors, Hannah hadn’t called again.

Jessie picked up her cell phone and was about to dial the number for Seasons when she heard an imaginary voice. It belonged to LAPD Detective Ryan Hernandez, her fiancé and sometimes work partner, who was currently at the downtown Central Police Station.

She pictured him standing over her disapprovingly and shaking his head as he quietly said, Don’t push her away. Let her come to you.

She put the phone down. Imaginary Ryan was right. Hannah had called her, which was the most voluntary contact she’d had in weeks. It was best not to press for more than that from her now. Jessie reminded herself that she should just be happy that the girl reached out at all. Between that and her seemingly genuine attempts to get better, things were marginally looking up.

Hannah had been at Seasons for over two weeks now, voluntarily (if reluctantly), admitting herself to deal with several issues. Officially, she was there to deal with her difficulty in feeling emotions unless she put herself in heightened, often dangerous situations. That was a legitimate concern.

But what no one at the facility other than Hannah and Dr. Janice Lemmon knew was the other, more pressing reason for her admission. Several months ago, she had shot and killed a serial killer who was hunting her, Jessie, and Ryan in a remote mountain cabin. While police determined that the killing was in self-defense, the truth was far darker.

The killer, nicknamed the Night Hunter, had already been captured by