City of Bones: An Ava Gold Mystery (Book 3)

C I T Y  O F  B O N E S

(An Ava Gold Mystery—Book Three)

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 nineteen 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 thirteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine 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); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six 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 Tetyana Ohare 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)

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)

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)

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)

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 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

PROLOGUE

Millie Newsom kept hearing how the world was changing for the better but she’d be damned if she’d seen much of it. She still felt like a second-class citizen as she walked down the street mainly just because she was a woman. Based on the mindsets and debates taking place all around New York City, Millie thought the day would eventually come when women were seen as equals, but she doubted she’d see it in her lifetime.

Her job was a good example of this. She’d been a reporter for two years now and even though she was among the best for her paper, she was not viewed as just a journalist, but a woman journalist—as if having breasts made her any worse or better of a journalist than a man. Still, she knew she was lucky to have the job because journalism, just like any other profession, was predominately occupied by men.

Millie was not quite a household name, not even among those who made it a point to read the papers on a daily basis. But enough people in her own paper and the competing rags knew about her. She was good at her job and though it seemed to pain some to admit it, she knew it was true. She used this confidence to keep her step straight and her mind at ease as she walked down the Brooklyn streets at 5:15, crossing the road and doing her best to blend in. It was a bit harder here in Brooklyn than in some of the busier areas in the city. Brooklyn had a new and exciting feel to it as it seemed to grow day by day, but it still lacked the bustle and vibrancy she was accustomed to closer to Manhattan.

Millie had dressed as plainly as possible, as to not draw attention to herself. She’d been assigned to tail a known mob member, hoping to crack open a story about the mob’s alleged success in bootlegging operations. She looked ahead and saw her target at the end of the block. He was in a hurry and had his head pointed straight ahead. Millie tried her best to keep a steady pace, wanting to stay just far enough behind the mafioso so he would not see her, but close enough so that she did not lose him.

Millie! Hey, Millie!

The whispered mention of her name from behind her both scared and irritated her. She paused for a moment and looked behind her. A thin and far-too-young-looking man was following behind her. His name was Ronald Amberley, a promising young journalist that the editors of the paper had asked to trail along behind her. They claimed it was so he could learn from her, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it was to covertly attach a male presence to her successes. She hadn’t liked the idea at first but she knew it made sense.

She was, after all, a rather attractive blonde woman who was tailing the mob. Having some sort of masculine presence was a good idea even if he was rail thin and his patchy beard made him look like a boy trying to play the part of an adult. Yes, Ronald was getting his training. But really, he was only slowing her down.

What is it, Ronald? she said as he caught up to her.

Don’t you think you’re moving too fast?

No. He’s almost an entire block ahead of me. Keep up.

But if you—

She glared at him and shook her head, taking perhaps a bit too much joy out of the startled look that came across his face. Ronald knew how quietly respected and revered she was back at the paper. She was twenty-eight years old and had her entire career ahead of her. She was doing her best to follow in the footsteps of her hero, Elizabeth Jane Cochran, one of the first influential female journalists who had also just happened to travel the globe in seventy-two days in an effort to show Jules Verne it could, in fact, be done. And while Millie knew it was foolish to dream of a global adventure, she thought it might be possible to attain the same levels of success Elizabeth Cochran had achieved.

If she was able to blow this story open, it would be a huge step toward that goal, that was for sure. And the key to it possibly rested with the mafioso ahead of her. She watched him closely as he turned right, heading down a different street. A few people were walking between them, giving her ample cover as she quickly followed along behind him. She was also aware of Ronald trailing her. When this was all over, she supposed the first thing she’d have to properly train him on was how to remain discreet while tailing someone.

She looked back quickly, just to make sure he hadn’t gotten separated from her before she took the same corner she saw the mob guy disappear behind. Ronald was still back there, struggling to keep up while also trying to blend in. If anything, it looked like he might be stalking her—which wasn’t going to help them blend in either.

When Millie turned back around to locate the mafioso again, she saw that he had stopped. Not only that, but he was looking right at her. Reacting as quickly as she could, Millie halted in her tracks and, thank God above, spotted the newsstand directly to her right, just at the edge of the sidewalk.

She leaned slightly toward it and reached for one of today’s papers. She tried to keep her gaze on the mafioso out of the corner of her eye, but he was just out of sight. As she pretended to eye the newspaper, now also attracting the attention of the paper salesman, she was worried that her cover was going to be blown. Even if she managed to keep her cool, Lord only knew how Ronald would react when he came up on her and saw that he had potentially been spotted.

What to do? she asked herself. What to do, what to d—

A shot rang out. It was clear and very close, the unmistakable sound of gunfire.

It was just a single report, but it sent the streets into a flurry of activity. First of all, it caused Millie to jump away from the newsstand, her head swiveling first in the direction she thought the shot had come from, and then in search of Ronald.

She didn’t see Ronald, though. There were too many people currently running for cover at the sound of the gunshot. Women were screaming and shouts of concern came from every direction. Millie lifted her right foot to start running to where she hoped Ronald would appear around the corner any minute, but lifting her leg suddenly seemed very difficult.

It was then that she felt a cold nagging feeling just below her chest. She looked down and saw a bright red spot in the checkered print of her coat. Just as she saw it, Ronald appeared around the edge of the building beside her. When he saw her, his eyes, already wide from the sound of gunfire, grew even wider when he spotted the still-blossoming bloodstain below her left breast.

Ronald…

My God, Millie! He came rushing forward just as she started to feel herself fall to the ground. Her knees gave way and she went down hard. She was pretty sure Ronald caught her as she fell, but her head was turned the other way. The last thing she saw before the darkness took her was the mafioso escaping quickly through the panicked crowd.

CHAPTER ONE

Ava Gold stared at the run-down building in front of her, trying to determine what it had been used for. It had the look of a dodgy bar of some kind, not quite large enough to make it as a club. Of course, bars weren’t around anymore thanks to the much-griped-about stranglehold of prohibition. But she could imagine this place as having once catered to heavy drinkers and men just anxious for some time away from their wives and kids. It was a simple one-story affair, made of wood and old brick. There was an overall seedy feel to it, especially in the darkness of night, the sort of place that kept secrets.

In that regard, it made sense that she’d ended up here. Ava had been following a loose lead concerning Clarence’s death for five days now. It had started with looking into old cases where a criminal had gone free and any description of a man of short stature wearing a wide-brimmed hat low on his head. It was the depiction of the man who had killed Clarence, as well as that of a man who got away with another shooting just a week or so before.

A few quick interviews with eyewitnesses and some cross-referencing of old police records had led her here. The old, faded letters above the door read Clancy’s, and the broken windows and boarded-over door spoke of a place that had not been open for at least several months. But based on some of the intel she’d gotten from some of her jazz-playing friends, the old place was used for a number of nefarious purposes.

Clancy’s sat dead center of an equally tired and dusty street. Currently, at nine o’clock at night, the street was practically empty. She’d wanted to be there earlier but had made sure to make it home in time to put Jeffrey to bed. She was by herself, as this was not an official case. In fact, she figured Frank would lose his mind if he knew what she was about to do.

You’re thinking a lot about Frank, aren’t you? she asked herself. She supposed she was, but that was to be expected. After all, they were having dinner later tonight. They were supposed to meet half an hour from now, but she wasn’t sure if it was going to work out that way. This private case might make a good excuse to miss it. She knew she should have told him no when he asked, but she thought it might come off as rude.

Focus, she told herself. Then, pushing thoughts of the coming (and surely awkward) dinner with Frank out of her head, she hurried across the street. She made sure to stick to the shadows along the side of the building, slinking into an old alleyway that smelled of urine and dust. She slowed her pace, keeping her head close to the wall. She looked for a side entrance but didn’t see one. It was so dark in the alley that she had to run her hands along the brick to make sure she didn’t miss a way in.

When she came to the back of the building, she found another alley that ran along behind the row of failed businesses along the street. It was separated by a lot that seemed to currently be in development for something. She studied the rear of Clancy’s and saw a small wooden door that had once served as its rear entrance. She then looked down the alleyway, hoping to see an automobile to give her some idea if there was anyone here or not. As it was, the night was too dark and the alleyway too long for