The Laughing Buddha: Malachai Samuels vs. D.D. Warren — M.J. Rose; Lisa Gardner

In this short story from the New York Times bestselling anthology FaceOff, Lisa Gardner and M.J. Rose -- along with their popular characters D.D. Warren and Malachai Samuels -- team up for the first time ever.

Sergeant detective D.D. Warren gets called to a murder scene in Boston's colorful Chinatown neighborhood. An antique dealer specializing in ancient Chinese artifacts -- ceramics, jade, and stone carvings -- is dead from a single gunshot wound. Although he appeared to have no known enemies, Mr. John Wen did have a business card clutched in his cold, dead hand. A card bearing the name Malachai Samuels.

A Jungian therapist specializing in past lives and regression therapy, Samuels has also been named a “person of interest” in recent criminal cases involving stolen artifacts. And there is an eight-inch, solid jade Buddha statue missing from Wen's office. D.D. Warren will have to pay Malachai Samuels a visit -- the question is, is he the killer, or can he simply help her find out who is?

For more exciting pairs, check out all eleven short stories in FaceOff!