“The young mother was devastated. The father got angry and decided to do what he could to make things right, which pretty much turned out to be nothing. He went on the Net and threw things out there, hoping something would stick. Basically what he was asking was if anyone out there had gone through the same thing, or knew of someone else who had gone through it, to get in touch with him. He came up with three other couples whose babies had been reclaimed by the surrogates. The couples all used the same lawyer but different surrogates. All the couples are in the same financial situation as the first couple.

“What they want to know is this: is there a way for you to get their babies back before Christmas? I called Pearl Barnes, and she’s got her people working on it as we speak. The decision, of course, is entirely up to you, but your firm would like an answer as soon as possible. The sooner you give me your answer, the sooner I can get to work.”

Annie looked around the table. “How could we not take this on? Just raise your hands, and let’s get on with it.”

Everyone in the room, including Charles, raised a hand.

Myra slipped the noisy necklace back into her pocket.

“Are we adjourned?”

The Sisters all looked at Nikki.

“We’re adjourned,” Nikki said quietly.

“We didn’t vote on Martine Connor,” Kathryn whispered as they walked through the door.

Nikki looked up at Kathryn and smiled. “I know.”

If you enjoyed Vanishing Act, don’t miss the next exciting novel in Fern Michaels’s Sisterhood series!

Turn the page for a special preview of

DEADLY DEALS,

a Zebra paperback on sale in April 2010.

Prologue

It looked like a cozy building, and it was…in the spring and summer. Ivy covered the brick walls, and flower beds abounded, all tended by the new manager of the Quinn Law Firm, a twelve-member, all-female firm, as everyone was quick to point out. In whispered tones, of course. Previously owned by one Nikki Quinn, one of the infamous Vigilantes.

In the fall and winter, the three-story brick building in Georgetown took on another appearance. Usually smoke could be seen wafting up through the chimney from the fireplace in the spacious lobby. A wreath of colorful leaves adorned the stark white door.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, the building underwent another transformation. A fragrant evergreen wreath with a huge red satin bow almost as wide as the door arrived from a grateful client in Oregon. Inside, the fire blazed; the birch logs, from another grateful client somewhere in the state of Washington, arrived like clockwork the day before Thanksgiving.