The Third Twin - Ken Follett [0]
Ken Follett is one of the smoothest suspense writers around, and The Third Twin will only enhance his reputation.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Follett keeps the tension high.”
—The Oregonian
“Follett infuses the book with an irresistible energy.”
—People
“His scenes whip along. And his ending is absolutely smashing.”
—The Virginian-Pilot
“Follett really knows how to tell a story.”
—The Atlanta Journal &Constitution
“In The Third Twin bestselling author Ken Follett has woven the contemporary and controversial issues of genetic engineering and test-tube babies into a snap, crackle, and pop story.…Well-defined characters charge through a week full of crime, science, sex, and sellouts.…Tightly written.”
—The State (Columbia, SC)
By Ken Follett:
A DANGEROUS FORTUNE
NIGHT OVER WATER
THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
LIE DOWN WITH LIONS
ON WINGS OF EAGLES
THE MAN FROM ST. PETERSBURG
THE KEY TO REBECCA
TRIPLE
EYE OF THE NEEDLE
A PLACE CALLED FREEDOM*
THE THIRD TWIN*
THE HAMMER OF EDEN*
*Published by Fawcett Books
A Fawcett Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright © 1996 by Ken Follett
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Fawcett Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Fawcett is a registered trademark and the Fawcett colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
www.ballantinebooks.com
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97-90416
eISBN: 978-0-307-77510-8
This edition published by arrangement with Crown Publishers, Inc.
First Ballantine Books International Edition: June 1997
First Ballantine Books Domestic Edition: August 1997
v3.1_r1
To my stepchildren:
Jann Turner, Kim Turner, and Adam Broer
with love
CONTENTS
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
SUNDAY
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
MONDAY
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
TUESDAY
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
WEDNESDAY
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
THURSDAY
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
FRIDAY
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
SATURDAY
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
SUNDAY
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
MONDAY
Chapter 62
NEXT JUNE
Chapter 63
Acknowledgments
SUNDAY
1
A HEAT WAVE LAY OVER BALTIMORE LIKE A SHROUD. The leafy suburbs were cooled by a hundred thousand lawn sprinklers, but the affluent inhabitants stayed inside with the air-conditioning on full blast. On North Avenue, listless hookers hugged the shade and sweated under their hairpieces, and the kids on the street corners dealt dope out of the pockets of baggy shorts. It was late September, but fall seemed a long way off.
A rusty white Datsun, the broken lens of one headlight fixed in place with an X of electrician’s tape, cruised through a white working-class neighborhood north of downtown. The car had no air-conditioning, and the driver had rolled down all