"'The kid always makes it. I told you that.'" Chap. 1, p. 1

"Karen cut her eyes at him. Full of repressed anger, they flashed like green warning beacons." Chap. 2, p. 12

"Beside the glasses lay a plastic device for pricking Abby's finger; it looked like a ballpoint pen." Chap. 2, p. 33

"And her father—a Korean War veteran—had taught her very young that this was the way fate came at you: out of the blue, without warning, the worst thing in the world appearing with a leer and a ticking clock." Chap. 2, p. 36

"Hickey was talking about kidnapping the way Will's partners bragged about inside stock trades." Chap. 3, p. 58

"It wasn't quite Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct—this woman was wearing panties—but she had made sure he could see everything but the brand name on the silk." Chap. 4, p. 68

"'If I don't get confirmation...