Time of Death
When the clock strikes twelve, it's time to die… Prepare to lose sleep with this exhilarating thriller.When the clock strikes twelve, it's time to die…One by one, random victims are stalked and shot at close range. Only the killer knows their sins, and who will be the next to die at midnight…Since her fall from Hollywood, actress Lorie Hammonds has returned to her hometown of Alabama and built a new life for herself. When the first death threat arrives, she assumes it's a joke. But as the notes become more personal, Lorie is running scared.Sheriff Mike Birkett, Lorie's ex-lover has been avoiding her, but when investigators uncover Lorie's connection to a string of recent murders, he's drawn into a case that's becoming terrifyingly personal.With every murder, the killer edges closer. Soon Lorie's will be the last name left on his list. But is Lorie all that she seems? As she battles to unearth a deadly secret, will she be able to save herself before time runs out for good?
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Time of Death
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. New York, NY, 2010
TIME OF DEATH. 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 ebook 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 ebooks
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
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
Source ISBN: 9781847561404
Ebook Edition © JUNE 2011 ISBN: 9780007412228 vERSION: 2018-07-09
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
There it was again, that odd sound. It must be…
Chapter 1
Lorie Hammonds slept until nearly eleven and woke with a…
Chapter 2
Derek Lawrence arrived late. He wouldn’t have even considered attending…
Chapter 3
Barbara Jean met the potential client at the front door,…
Chapter 4
He exited the small commuter airplane, hoisted his vinyl carryall…
Chapter 5
“I want to assure you that the sheriff’s department will…
Chapter 6
Derek parked his Vette in the driveway, got out, locked…
Chapter 7
After locking the door and securing it so that no…
Chapter 8
Maleah and Derek had agreed to split the day guarding…
Chapter 9
Lorie walked Paul Babcock to the door. “I’m glad you…
Chapter 10
The Powell jet landed shortly before noon, Eastern Standard Time.
Chapter 11
He was dying. His doctor had delivered his death sentence…
Chapter 12
The sun heated their naked skin as they played together…
Chapter 13
“Buddy!” Mike bellowed the deputy’s name.
Chapter 14
After the unsettling night before, Lorie had decided not to…
Chapter 15
On Saturday morning, Special Agent Hicks Wainwright held a press…
Chapter 16
When he had phoned Abby and explained the situation, she…
Chapter 17
Mike called her at 10:05 P.M. “We need to talk.”
Chapter 18
Mike Birkett dropped his kids off at school and headed…
Chapter 19
Jeff Misner rammed into his wife, his upper thighs slapping…
Chapter 20
Lorie had almost forgotten the sound of her mother’s voice.
Chapter 21
Ransom Owens lived alone in the brick house built by…
Chapter 22
Deputy Buddy Pounders lived a quarter of a mile from…
Chapter 23
Lorie wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not that…
Chapter 24
When Nicole Powell woke, she found herself alone in bed.
Chapter 25
Casey used his friend Jason’s cell phone to make the…
Chapter 26
During the past couple of weeks, Lorie and Mike had…
Chapter 27
He had three days to make it happen. Three days…
Chapter 28
Lorie had just stepped out of the shower and wrapped…
Chapter 29
He stood in the woods, darkness surrounding him, as the…
Chapter 30
“There’s a problem with Mrs. Owens,” Ashley White said as she…
Chapter 31
Puff Raven had been and still was an extremely sexy…
Chapter 32
At 8:15 on the last Friday morning in April, Lila…
Chapter 33
Carrying a newspaper under his arm and with the straps…
Chapter 34
“What are you doing here?” Tyler Owens stared in total…
Chapter 35
The Powell Agency wrapped up their investigation into the Midnight…
Chapter 36
When Lorie walked out of the sheriff’s office the morning…
Epilogue
Lorie had tried to convince Mike that they should have…
Read on for an exclusive chapter of Beverly Barton’s new novel, If Looks Could Kill
About the Author
Other Books by Beverly Barton
Prologue
There it was again, that odd sound. It must be the wind. What else could it be? Possibly a wild animal, a raccoon or possum or even a stray dog. Bears are in hibernation this time of year.
Get hold of yourself. You’re imagining things. Nobody’s out there. Nobody is going to show up here in the middle of the woods in the dead of winter just to frighten you.
Dean’s bone-thin hands trembled as he pulled back the gingham curtain from the dirty window and peered out into the darkness. The quarter-moon winked mockingly at him through a thin veil of clouds, as if it knew something he didn’t. The cold wind whispered menacingly. Was it issuing him a warning?
Releasing the curtain, he rubbed his hands together, as much to warm them as to control the quivering. He sure as hell could use a drink about now. Or something stronger, quicker. But he had learned to settle for strong coffee. A caffeine fix was better than no fix at all. He had been clean and sober for three years and he had no intention of allowing a few stupid letters to destroy his hard-won freedom from drugs and alcohol.
