All the Beautiful Brides Read Free Page A

to the studio by a glass partition, where he would screen calls and cue up intro and outro music, then motioned for her to begin.
    So far, the show had gotten off to a good start. People called in to discuss anything from work-related issues to marital and family problems. Today she expected callers who wanted to discuss the memorial service.
    Mona slipped on her headphones. “This is Mona Monroe coming to you live with Ask Mona . The lines are open.”
    Chance pointed to the board as it began to light up with calls.
    “Hello, this is Mona. And you are?”
    “Josie.”
    “What’s on your mind tonight, Josie?”
    “It’s my mother. She grew up in Graveyard Falls but moved away. Last week we came back to town to take care of my grandfather, who has health issues, only she acts like she hates him. They had a big falling out before I was born, and have hardly spoken since.”
    “Did she tell you what went wrong between them?”
    “No. But it all happened the same year those girls died.”
    The hair on the back of Mona’s neck prickled. “She lived here then?”
    “Yes. But she won’t talk about the past. I think she might have known some of those girls. I guess it was hard to see her classmates murdered.”
    “Yes. That obviously was a difficult time for everyone,” Mona said. “People are still grieving.”
    “I get that. But she especially won’t talk about my father. She told me he died. But I don’t think that’s true.”
    Mona could certainly relate to being lied to. Her adoptive parents had done that all her life. “Have you tried talking to her?”
    “Yes, but she clams up.” Josie paused. “I found a diary she kept in high school. I think my father’s name might be in it. But she became livid when I tried to look at it.”
    Mona took a deep breath. She didn’t want to encourage the young woman to violate her mother’s privacy, but she understood her need to know the truth. “I suggest you have a heart-to-heart and explain how you feel.”
    A voice sounded in the background, and Josie muttered she had to go. Mona hoped she’d call back.
    Another call was waiting, so Chance connected it. The caller immediately launched into her suspicions that her husband was cheating on her.
    Mona suggested she confront her husband and then encouraged her to ask him to attend counseling.
    To her, trust was the most important thing in a marriage.
    At least Brent had been faithful.
    No one could take that away from her now.

    Cal catalogued the details of the MO—wedding dress, red lipstick, the rose, the thorns that had bloodied the woman’s mouth and throat . . .
    The location and the rose stems were similar to the Thorn Ripper case.
    But there were also differences.
    The wedding dress, the garter, the lipstick, the stun gun markings.
    The wind whipped the trees into a frenzy, sending icy pellets from their branches and twigs falling to the ground. Cal stepped sideways to avoid getting pummeled by the deluge.
    Identifying the victim was the first step in uncovering what had brought her to this point—and who had left her here dead.
    Cal turned to the deputy. “Have you received any missing-persons reports in the past week?”
    The deputy shook his head, a dark glint in his eyes. Adrenaline, excitement, he was wired to work this case.
    “First murder, Deputy Kimball?” Cal asked.
    The deputy nodded. “Yeah, things have been calm since I took over for Sheriff Buckley. Sometimes I wonder if we even need the two assistant deputies in town. Although now they’re coming in handy.”
    “What’s going on with Sheriff Buckley?”
    “He has a brain tumor, inoperable,” Deputy Kimball said. “Although he’s adamant about attending Pike’s parole hearing.” Kimball cleared his throat. “I called a forensic unit from the county. They oughta be here soon.”
    “Good. Do you know this woman?”
    “No. But I just moved here a couple of months ago. And I didn’t find a purse or wallet.”
    The hiker looked