When the Wind Blows
S
ELECTED AS THE
B
EST
B
OOK OF THE
Y
EAR BY
THE
D
ENVER
R
OCKY
M
OUNTAIN
N
EWS
Frannie O’Neill is a talented Colorado veterinarian haunted by her husband’s murder. But the course of her life is about to
change again. After another bizarre killing, Kit Harrison, a troubled and unconventional FBI agent, arrives on her doorstep.
And late one night Frannie stumbles upon a strange, astonishing phenomenon.
Her name is Max. Only eleven years old, she will lead Frannie and Kit to uncover one of the most diabolical and inhuman plots
of modern science.
“WHIPS THE PAGES RIGHT BY… It has been more than a decade since I was captivated by a book like I was captivated by this one.”
—Denver Rocky Mountain News
“ROMANCE, SUSPENSE, ACTION… swiftly told…. There’s magic here, too, leaving readers more than once struck deep by wonder.”
—Publishers Weekly
“MEMORABLE… A WINNER.”
—The Tennessean
“BRILLIANTLY DRAWN CHARACTERS…SKILLED DIALOGUE…. BIG, WARM FEELINGS… READS LIKE A DREAM.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
RAVES FOR JAMES PATTERSON
“PATTERSON JUGGLES TWIST AFTER TWIST WITH GENUINE GLEE.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“JAMES PATTERSON DOES EVERYTHING BUT STICK OUR FINGER IN A LIGHT SOCKET TO GIVE US A BUZZ.”
—New York Times
“JAMES PATTERSON KNOWS HOW TO SELL THRILLS AND SUSPENSE IN CLEAR, UNWAVERING PROSE.”
—People
“PATTERSON KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING, AND HE KEEPS THE PEDAL DOWN ON THE ACTION AND SUSPENSE.”
—Washington Times
“PATTERSON IS A MASTER.”
—Newark Star Ledger
“PATTERSON LAYS OUT A TRIAL OF UP-AND-DOWN PLOT TWISTS that makes it nearly impossible to figure out the truth before he wants
you to.”
—Associated Press
“HE’S UNBEATABLE… Patterson proves himself master of the hair-raising thriller.”
—Buffalo News
“WHEN IT COMES TO CONSTRUCTING A HARROWING PLOT, AUTHOR JAMES PATTERSON CAN TURN A SCREW ALL RIGHT.”
—New York Daily News
“JAMES PATTERSON BRILLIANTLY EXPLORES DARK CREVICES OF THE ABERRANT MIND… WITH ROLLER-COASTER THRILLERS.”
—Ann Rule
“A MUST-READ AUTHOR… reaches out and grabs you from the opening page and doesn’t let go until the last drop of blood.”
—Providence Journal
“PATTERSON, AMONG THE BEST NOVELISTS OF CRIME STORIES EVER, HAS REACHED HIS PINNACLE.”
—USA Today
“PATTERSON’S A MASTER OF SUSPENSE THRILLERS… twists and turns arrive in roller-coaster fashion… Patterson is diabolical.”
—Nashville Banner
“EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED FROM JAMES PATTERSON…. Patterson confounds even mystery veterans with spine-tingling twists and turns
that leave readers hanging upside down with their hearts racing.”
—Columbus Dispatch
“PATTERSON JOINS THE ELITE COMPANY OF THOMAS HARRIS AND JOHN SANFORD in concocting riveting and truly unique serial killers,
while creating sleuths who are heroic and fascinating.”
—San Francisco Examiner
“PATTERSON NOT ONLY CREATES A DIZZYING FLIGHT OF SUSPENSE AND VIOLENCE, but exposes the explosive elements in today’s society
that make the world vulnerable to frightening events.”
—Baton Rouge Magazine
“Readers who have not discovered James Patterson just don’t know what they are missing. PATTERSON IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE
OF THE MOST TALENTED AND EXCITING AUTHORS OF CRIME FICTION TODAY.”
—Lake Worth Herald
“A RIDE ON A ROLLER COASTER WHOSE BRAKES HAVE GONE OUT.”
—Chicago Tribune on Cat & Mouse
“
CAT&MOUSE
IS A PULSATING GAME…. THE ACTION IS FAST AND FURIOUS…. The pages turn in a blur…. You might just finish this in one sitting.
It’s that kind of book.”
—Rocky Mountain News
“Patterson delivers the SWIFTLY PACED FARE THAT HAS MADE HIM A CHAMP OF THE CHARTS.”
—Publishers Weekly on Ca t& Mouse
“CROSS, A BRILLIANT HOMICIDE COP, IS ONE OF THE GREAT CREATIONS OF THRILLER FICTION.”
—Dallas Morning News on Jack & Jill
“CAPTIVATING… A FAST-PACED THRILLER FULL OF SURPRISING BUT REALISTIC PLOT TWISTS.”
—San Francisco Examiner on Jack & Jill
“TOUGH TO PUT DOWN… TICKS LIKE A TIME BOMB, ALWAYS FULL OF THREAT AND TENSION.”
—Los Angeles Times on Kiss the Girls
“PATTERSON HIT THE BALL OUT OF THE PARK WITH
ALONG CAME A SPIDER. KISS THE GIRLS
IS EVEN BETTER.”
—Dallas Morning News
“A WILD RIDE… ALEX CROSS IS TO THE ’90s WHAT MIKE HAMMER WAS TO THE ’50s.”
—Denver Post on Kiss the Girls
“A FIRST-RATE THRILLER—FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS AND KEEP THE LIGHTS ON!”
—Sidney Sheldon on Along Came a Spider
“HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST THRILLERS OF THE YEAR.”
—Clive Cussler on Along Came a Spider
“TERROR AND SUSPENSE THAT GRAB THE READER AND WON’T LET GO. JUST TRY RUNNING AWAY FROM THIS ONE.”
—Ed McBain on Along Came a Spider
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors’ imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Warner Books Edition
Copyright © 1998 by James Patterson
All rights reserved.
Warner Books, Inc.
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at
www.HachetteBookGroup.com
.
First eBook Edition: June 2003
ISBN: 978-0-7595-2779-9
Must be thrilling from the air.
—Leopold Bloom in
Ulysses
Contents
Book Three: Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Baked in a Pie
Book Five: When the Wind Blows
BEFORE I BEGAN THIS BOOK, I had no idea how close to reality the story would be. Over thirty medical doctors and research
scientists helped at the conceptual stage, and then again when the manuscript was nearing completion. As one medical doctor
and Ph.D. at the National Institutes of Health said, “Most people are not going to believe the breakthroughs that are coming
in the very near future.” These doctors and researchers went into considerable detail, but I don’t want to spoil the surprises
and suspense in the story you are about to read.
I would especially like to thank Maxine Paetro, who was deeply involved with the book almost from the beginning, and who was
important through the arduous research, writing, and editing process.
2/24/98
FIRST FLIGHT
S
OMEBODY PLEASE help me! Somebody please! Can anybody hear me?”