The Mother
Prepare to lose sleep with this shocking and utterly engrossing thriller, for fans of Karen Rose and Karin Slaughter.The crime scenes are horrifying: the victims arranged with deliberate care, posed to appear alive despite their agonized last moments and the shocking nature of their deaths.For grief counsellor Audrey Sherrod it’s clear the murders are the work of a deranged serial killer. At first, the only link is the victims’ physical appearance. But then another connection emerges, tying them to a past series of horrifying crimes – crimes that hit all too close to home.As the truth is unravelled, its more twisted and terrifying than anyone could ever imagine.
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Don’t Cry
Beverly Barton
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
AVON
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in the U.S.A by Kensington Publishing Corp as Don’t Cry New York, NY, 2010
DON’T CRY. Copyright © Beverly Barton 2010. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Beverly Barton asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Source ISBN: 9781847562487
Ebook Edition © DECEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780007452460
Version: 2018-07-23
Dedication
To Billy, for a million and one reasons, but most of all
because he loves me
&
In memory of Pelham, Alabama,
Police Officer Philip Davis, who lost his life in the line of duty, December 4, 2009
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
The Humpty-Dumpty night-light cast a soft, honey-white glow over the…
Chapter 1
J.D. Cass listened to his breakfast date’s end of the…
Chapter 2
Charlie Scott kept his arm clutched tightly around his wife’s…
Chapter 3
For most of her life—certainly after the car wreck that…
Chapter 4
Audrey had spent a restless night, tossing and turning, waking…
Chapter 5
After Audrey’s arrival at his home that morning, Mayor Don…
Chapter 6
Audrey disagreed with Garth. And not for the first time.
Chapter 7
Wayne Sherrod couldn’t get away from headquarters fast enough. He…
Chapter 8
After they had made love, while he held her close,…
Chapter 9
Audrey balanced her briefcase in one hand and a mocha…
Chapter 10
After her uncle’s phone call that morning, Audrey had asked…
Chapter 11
The hot, humid summer breeze did little to cool the…
Chapter 12
Jeremy caught a glimpse of the dark-haired waitress at the…
Chapter 13
Wayne Sherrod hadn’t seen or talked to Steve Kelly in…
Chapter 14
J.D. left the Chattanooga Funeral Home’s East Chapel with the…
Chapter 15
Audrey had waited until she and Zoe had arrived at…
Chapter 16
Tam had left Marcus sleeping when she crept out of…
Chapter 17
All J.D. wanted to do was pick up his daughter…
Chapter 18
J.D. had immersed himself in work, leaving the situation with…
Chapter 19
“Was that Porter Bryant you were talking to?” Hart asked…
Chapter 20
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Grace Douglas…
Chapter 21
J.D. dropped Zoe off at Audrey’s town house Saturday night…
Chapter 22
Eileen Campbell came straight from morning church services to her…
Chapter 23
J.D hadn’t slept worth a damn. And it was more…
Chapter 24
Hart had used the interview with TBI Special Agent Cass…
Chapter 25
J.D. had kept tabs on Jeremy Arden and Hart Roberts…
Chapter 26
Somer Ellis enjoyed her part-time job as a salesclerk at…
Chapter 27
Tam had known Garth Hudson most of her life. She…
Chapter 28
“Is he gone?” Zoe asked as she walked up beside…
Chapter 29
Somer Ellis’s head hurt. Maybe she should get up and…
Chapter 30
The sketch artist had drawn a picture of the person…
Chapter 31
Jeremy had needed a fix last night. Had needed one…
Chapter 32
Hart pumped into the woman lying beneath him, his thrusts…
Chapter 33
Driving like the proverbial bat out of hell, J.D. arrived…
Chapter 34
Somer heard his footsteps.
Chapter 35
Within an hour after Porter Bryant’s arrest, the small, dilapidated…
Chapter 36
A week later the test results came back from the…
Chapter 37
What could have been an awkward moment after they made…
Chapter 38
Hart had been awake all night. Thinking. Praying. He needed…
Chapter 39
Garth unlocked the front door and walked into the living…
Chapter 40
Tam came and took Audrey home from the hospital that…
Dear Reader
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Beverly Barton
Prologue
Thirty years ago
The Humpty-Dumpty night-light cast a soft, honey-white glow over the nursery, from the 5' x 7' Mother Goose rug on the wooden floor to the fluffy clouds painted on the ceiling. A large Raggedy Andy doll, with a mop of red hair and a perpetual smile, sat atop a brightly decorated toy box in the corner. Billowy blue and white gingham curtains covered the double windows that overlooked the backyard, and a matching gingham quilt, neatly folded, lay at the foot of the baby bed in the center of the small room.
