At First Light Read online

  PRAISE FOR BARBARA NICKLESS

  Gone to Darkness

  “A gritty, hard-boiled crime novel with breathless action and deep, sturdy characters. Detective Sydney Parnell and her partner, Clyde, a police dog, are a tantalizing duo, and the story’s narrative and dialogue are authentic and witty and demand compulsive reading. Gone to Darkness is everything you want in thriller fiction.”

  —Robert Dugoni, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series

  “Nobody does atmosphere better than Barbara Nickless. With deft strokes, she draws impending doom within bleak settings and then colors them with vivid action and brilliant characters, both human and canine. Gone to Darkness is mystery and suspense writing at its best!”

  —Margaret Mizushima, award-winning author of the Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries

  “Barb Nickless’s Gone to Darkness is another stellar entry in the Sydney Rose Parnell series. Even though she’s now a Denver police detective, Sydney and Clyde catch a case involving trains, a unique milieu that Nickless masterfully evokes. Readers who enjoy an atmospheric setting, a kick-ass yet vulnerable heroine, solid police procedurals, fast-paced yet lyrical writing, and/or the closeness of a human-dog partnership should immediately buy or borrow every book in this series. (I stop short of suggesting stealing a copy, but if that’s your only option . . .)”

  —Laura DiSilverio, award-winning and nationally bestselling author of The Reckoning Stones

  “Barbara Nickless creates characters who matter—to each other and to the reader, who is fortunate to journey with them. With Gone to Darkness, Nickless expertly crafts a dark tale brightened with heart, humor, and humanity. It’s a tightly woven, always escalating, keeps-you-up-past-your-bedtime novel. And Sydney Parnell is my favorite kind of detective: a relentless empath on a mission to solve herself as well as the crime, navigating her demons to ensure justice for the victims of evil.”

  —Matt Goldman, Emmy Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of the Nils Shapiro series

  “In the fourth episode of her popular, bestselling Sydney Rose Parnell series, award-winning thriller writer and fan favorite Barbara Nickless leaves no doubt that she’s on the fast track to A-list stardom. In Gone to Darkness, the action never slows, and the suspense ratchets up in every chapter of this delightfully twisted and energetic page-turning thriller from the mind of a budding superstar!”

  —Mysterious Book Report

  Ambush

  “A nail-biter with some wicked twists . . . Fast-paced and nonstop . . . Sydney is fleshed out, flawed, gritty, and kick-ass and you can’t help but root for her. Nickless leaves you satisfied and smiling—something that doesn’t happen too often in this genre!”

  —Bookish Biker

  “Ambush has plenty of action and intrigue. There are shoot-outs and kidnappings. There are cover-ups and conspiracies. At the center of it all is a flawed heroine who will do whatever it takes to set things right.”

  —BVS Reviews

  “Ambush takes off on page one like a Marine F/A-18 Super Hornet under full military power from the flight deck . . . and never lets the reader down.”

  —Mysterious Book Report

  “Ambush truly kicks butt and takes names, crackling with tension from page one with a plot as sharp as broken glass. Barbara Nickless is a superb writer.”

  —Steve Berry, #1 internationally bestselling author

  “Ambush is modern mystery with its foot on the gas. Barbara Nickless’s writing—at turns blazing, aching, stark, and gorgeous—propels this story at a breathless pace until its sublime conclusion. In Sydney Parnell, Nickless has masterfully crafted a heroine who, with all her internal and external scars, compels the reader to simultaneously root for and forgive her. A truly standout novel.”

  —Carter Wilson, USA Today bestselling author of Mister Tender’s Girl

  “Exceptional . . . Nickless raises the stakes and expands the canvas of a blisteringly original series. A wholly satisfying roller coaster of a thriller that features one of the genre’s most truly original heroes.”

  —Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author

  “Ambush . . . makes you laugh and cry as the pages fly by.”

  —Tim Tigner, internationally bestselling author

  Dead Stop

  “The twists and turns . . . are first-rate. Barbara Nickless has brought forth a worthy heroine in Sydney Parnell.”

  —BVS Reviews

  “Nothing less than epic . . . A fast-paced, action-packed, thriller-diller of a novel featuring two of the most endearing and toughest ex-jarheads you’ll ever meet.”

  —Mysterious Book Report

  “A story with the pace of a runaway train.”

  —Bruce W. Most, award-winning author of Murder on the Tracks

  “Want a great read, here you go!”

  —Books Minority

  “Nickless is on my favorite writers list now.”

  —Writing.com

  “Riveting suspense. Nickless writes with the soul of a poet. Dead Stop is a dark and memorable book.”

  —Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassins

  “A deliciously twisted plot that winds through the dark corners of the past into the present, where nothing—and nobody—is as they seem. Dead Stop is a first-rate, can’t-put-down mystery with a momentum that never slows. I am eager to see what Barbara Nickless comes up with next—she is definitely a mystery writer to watch.”

  —Margaret Coel, New York Times bestselling author of the Wind River Mystery series

  Blood on the Tracks

  A SUSPENSE MAGAZINE BEST OF 2016 BOOKS SELECTION: DEBUT

  “A stunner of a thriller. From the first page to the last, Blood on the Tracks weaves a spell that only a natural storyteller can master. And a guarantee: you’ll fall in love with one of the best characters to come along in modern thriller fiction, Sydney Rose Parnell.”

  —Jeffery Deaver, internationally bestselling author

  “Beautifully written and heartbreakingly intense, this terrific and original debut is unforgettable. Please do not miss Blood on the Tracks. It fearlessly explores our darkest and most vulnerable places—and is devastatingly good. Barbara Nickless is a star.”

  —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha, and Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author of Say No More

  “Both evocative and self-assured, Barbara Nickless’s debut novel is an outstanding, hard-hitting story so gritty and real, you feel it in your teeth. Do yourself a favor and give this bright talent a read.”

  —John Hart, multiple Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of Redemption Road

  “Fast-paced and intense, Blood on the Tracks is an absorbing thriller that is both beautifully written and absolutely unique in character and setting. Barbara Nickless has written a twisting, tortured novel that speaks with brutal honesty of the lingering traumas of war, including and especially those wounds we cannot see. I fell hard for Parnell and her four-legged partner and can’t wait to read more.”

  —Vicki Pettersson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Swerve

  “The aptly titled Blood on the Tracks offers a fresh and starkly original take on the mystery genre. Barbara Nickless has fashioned a beautifully drawn hero in take-charge, take-no-prisoners Sydney Parnell, former Marine and now a railway cop battling a deadly gang as she investigates their purported connection to a recent murder. Nickless proves a master of both form and function in establishing herself every bit the equal of Nevada Barr and Linda Fairstein. A major debut that is not to be missed.”

  —Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author

  “Blood on the Tracks is a bullet train of action. It’s one part mystery and two
parts thriller with a compelling protagonist leading the charge toward a knockout finish. The internal demons of one Sydney Rose Parnell are as gripping as the external monster she’s chasing around Colorado. You will long remember this spectacular debut novel.”

  —Mark Stevens, author of the award-winning Allison Coil Mystery series

  “Nickless captures you from the first sentence. Her series features Sydney Rose Parnell, a young woman haunted by the ghosts of her past. In Blood on the Tracks, she doggedly pursues a killer, seeking truth even in the face of her own destruction—the true mark of a heroine. Skilled in evoking emotion from the reader, Nickless is a master of the craft, a writer to keep your eyes on.”

  —Chris Goff, author of Dark Waters

  “Barbara Nickless’s Blood on the Tracks is raw and authentic, plunging readers into the fascinating world of tough railroad cop Special Agent Sydney Rose Parnell and her Malinois sidekick, Clyde. Haunted by her military service in Iraq, Sydney Rose is brought in by the Denver Major Crimes unit to help solve a particularly brutal murder, leading her into a snake pit of hate and betrayal. Meticulously plotted and intelligently written, Blood on the Tracks is a superb debut novel.”

  —M. L. Rowland, author of the Search and Rescue Mystery novels

  “Blood on the Tracks is a must-read debut. A suspenseful crime thriller with propulsive action, masterful writing, and a tough-as-nails cop, Sydney Rose Parnell. Readers will want more.”

  —Robert K. Tanenbaum, New York Times bestselling author of the Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi legal thrillers

  “Nickless’s writing admirably captures the fallout from a war where even survivors are trapped, forever reliving their trauma.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Part mystery, part antiwar story, Nickless’s engrossing first novel, a series launch, introduces Sydney Rose Parnell . . . Nickless skillfully explores the dehumanizing effects resulting from the unspeakable cruelties of wartime as well as the part played by the loyalty soldiers owe to family and each other under stressful circumstances.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “An interesting tale . . . The fast pace will leave you finished in no time. Nickless seamlessly ties everything together with a shocking ending.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “If you enjoy suspense and thrillers, then you will [want] Blood on the Tracks for your library. Full of the suspense that holds you on the edge of your seat, it’s also replete with acts of bravery, moments of hope, and a host of feelings that keep the story’s intensity level high. This would be a great work for a book club or reading group with a great deal of information that would create robust dialogue and debate.”

  —Blog Critics

  “In Blood on the Tracks, Barbara Nickless delivers a thriller with the force of a speeding locomotive and the subtlety of a surgeon’s knife. Sydney and Clyde are both great characters with flaws and virtues to see them through a plot thick with menace. One for contemporary thriller lovers everywhere.”

  —Authorlink

  “Blood on the Tracks is a superb story that rises above the genre of mystery . . . It is a first-class read.”

  —Denver Post

  ALSO BY BARBARA NICKLESS

  Blood on the Tracks

  Dead Stop

  Ambush

  Gone to Darkness

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2021 by Barbara Nickless

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattle

  www.apub.com

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  ISBN-13: 9781542026413

  ISBN-10: 1542026415

  Cover design by M. S. Corley

  To my ghosts, which are many

  CONTENTS

  PREFACE: A LOVE LETTER TO CHICAGO

  ONE

  Excerpt from The . . .

  THE VIKING POET

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  TWO

  Excerpt from Criminal . . .

  THE VIKING POET

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  THREE

  Excerpt from Criminal . . .

  THE VIKING POET

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PREFACE: A LOVE LETTER TO CHICAGO

  The city of Chicago sounded its siren call for me long ago. A too-short visit only cemented my love for this bustling, brazen, brilliant city built on a swamp. A place where the lake and the rivers keep trying to take back what was once theirs—and where the people of Chicago refuse to cede more than a few basements or an underpass or the occasional tunnel. Where corruption rubs up against idealism, where neighborhoods shift and gentrify and shift again.

  My plan, when I began writing At First Light, was to return to Chicago and stay with family on an extended sabbatical. I wanted to begin like a tourist and then take a deeper dive into the city’s architecture, its culture, and especially its people.

  Then came the 2020 pandemic. And everything changed. The citizens of Chicago—like so many Americans—suffered terribly. And I remained in Colorado.

  I considered shifting Evan and Addie to another city. But nothing about that felt right. So I persisted. And as I struggled to get to know the city from a distance, what I learned is that Chicagoans are among the most generous people you’ll meet. From detectives to bookstore owners to attorneys and beyond—when I asked for help, people gave generously of their time and knowledge.

  For a list of some of the people who helped, please read the acknowledgments in the back. And for the many, many other resources I used while writing this book—both for Chicago and for other aspects of the story—please visit my website at www.barbaranickless.com.

  Finally, for everything about Chicago that I got wrong, I offer a heartfelt apology. I confess to altering certain locations such as Washington Park to suit the needs of this story. And to being deliberately vague about the location of Evan’s home. If you notice errors, I’d love to hear from you so that I get it right on Evan’s next adventure.

  Barbara Nickless

  March 2020

  ONE

  Excerpt from The Narratives of Serial Killers

  Semiotician: Evan Wilding, PhD, SSA, IASS

  Proceedings of the International Conference on Semiotics

  Every murderer creates his own story.

  This story may be simple or elaborate, coherent or deeply fragmented.

  Serial murderers often leave signs and symbols at the crime scene—messages for the police to decipher. Notes, maps, images. The posing of the bo
dy, a unique modus operandi. The killer is the riddler extraordinaire, and his narrative—the story he wishes to tell—is the enigma he presents to the detective.

  Someone—perhaps Nietzsche—once said that those seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music.

  Our job is to find the killer’s music.

  THE VIKING POET

  Listen!

  I am the wolf who walks your nights. The horror who haunts your days. Hear me—I am the soldier who slays the sinners.

  Come, sinner, you who violate the Law. Walk with me.

  Am I not fair company?

  We will spend tonight together. And if you cannot answer my riddle, then I will—I must!—finish Odin’s work. When it is over, I’ll send birds to guide you from this world into another, as custom demands. Birds whose presence in Chicago defiles nature. Then I’ll scatter runes to tell the world of your sins.

  Remember: fate goes ever as it must.

  And I am your fate.

  I speak my words aloud then, satisfied; cap my pen; and close the journal. It’s evening. The sun, Sunna, riding in her chariot, nears the far horizon. All around, shadows gather.

  I look past the translations of Beowulf stacked on my desk. Past the knife. I pick up the framed photo of Alex and touch a finger to the glass.

  A sound. Outside, a murmuration of starlings flurries past the windows. I stand and, still holding Alex’s photograph, I cross the room to stand in the dying light. I wonder what soul the birds accompany tonight.

  Who came for you, Alex, when you lay broken deep in the earth? Who carried your soul to the underworld?

  My fingers tremble on the picture frame.

  The last rays disappear. Red still burns in the western sky, but overhead, a scattering of stars appears in the darkening vault, jewels on a diamond broker’s velvet cloth.

  I replace Alex’s photo on the desk, then drop to the floor and knock out a series of push-ups, lunges, squats, and planks. I work until my breath comes hard and sweat sheets from my naked skin.

  To calm my mind. To prepare for what is to come.

  Then I shower and dress, draw on my coat, slip my cell phone and car keys into a pocket.