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HUNTING A KILLER

The body lay faceup at the waterline, the skin dusted with sand that glistened in the slanting early morning sun. The waves crept up, gently rocking the body and then recoiling, as if in horror at the gruesome discovery.

There was no face.

And what little skin remained was speckled with black paint.

Louis wet his lips, his stomach queasy. Tatum and Quick had been beaten, but this one . . . This time the face was gone. He steadied himself by taking a few steps away and looking out over the gulf. He concentrated on a lone sailboat, on its shape—a crisp white triangle against the brilliant blue of the sky.

Wainwright walked up to him. “We’re dealing with a serial killer, Louis.”

Louis nodded.

Wainwright pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face as he looked back down at Mobley and the others.

“Dan,” Louis said, “did you notice the face on this one? He’s getting madder.”

“But you’re wrong about the pattern,” Wainwright said. “He still killed on a Tuesday. That gives us six days to find the bastard.”

He stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket and trudged up the beach.

After he left, Louis stood there, not quite ready to leave, and not wanting to go back down to where the faceless body lay baking in the sand. . . .

Books by P.J. Parrish

DARK OF THE MOON

DEAD OF WINTER

PAINT IT BLACK

Published by Pinnacle Books

PAINT IT BLACK

P.J. Parrish

Paint It Black _1.jpg

PINNACLE BOOKS

Kensington Publishing Corp.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

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All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Table of Contents

HUNTING A KILLER

Also by

Title Page

Dedication

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-four

Chapter Thirty-five

Chapter Thirty-six

Chapter Thirty-seven

Chapter Thirty-eight

Chapter Thirty-nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-one

Chapter Forty-two

Chapter Forty-three

Chapter Forty-four

Chapter Forty-five

Chapter Forty-six

Chapter Forty-seven

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Copyright Page

To our good bud, Bacchus, for all

his help

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

You won’t find Sereno Key on any map of Florida; it is a place of the imagination. But the area that inspired it—the southwest coast of Florida—is very real. In setting PAINT IT BLACK there, we have taken a few liberties with geography, but most of the places in the story are real, and we have tried to stay true to the distinct ambiance of our setting.

We were helped by some fine people along the way. A huge thank-you goes to:

Dave Jensen and Vanessa Viglione, who know where all the bodies are buried on Captiva and beyond.

George Lynch of the “Miss Barnegat Light” at Fisherman’s Wharf; John Derickson of “Robin’s Song” at Bahia Mar; and fishing guide Greg Rhodes, who educated us on the ways of boats, bloody fish, and the backbay.

Dr. Dave Donson of New York Methodist Hospital, in Brooklyn, NY, who inspired the original germ of the story and led us through its medical thicket.

Kara Winton, public information officer; Officer Kim Lindsay; and Major Kevin B. Anderson, all of the Fort Myers Police Department. Thanks for your insights and enthusiasm.

And last but not least, to Sam Johnson, chief investigator, Office of the Medical Examiner, in Fort Myers, for being so generous with his time and expertise.

We would also like to acknowledge some source material. The following books are excellent guides to those wishing to learn more about the early days of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and criminal profiling: The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide by Athan G. Theoharis, Tony G. Poveda, Susan Rosenfeld, and Richard Gid Powers; The FBI by Ronald Kessler; and, of course, the seminal works of FBI investigator John Douglas, especially Journey Into Darkness (with Mark Olshaker).

March 1986


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