All the Pretty Faces Read Online Free

texted earlier that he was meeting Agent Dane Hamrick from the FBI. She’d interviewed the federal agent for the book.
    Neither of them were here now, though.
    Judging from the mixed reactions, tempers were spiraling out of control.
    The wind stirred again, and the hair on the back of her neck bristled as she inched down the stairs. She had the uneasy feeling that something bad was going to happen.
    Or maybe it already had. That could be the reason Dane was in Graveyard Falls. He certainly wouldn’t be interested in the movie.
    Her phone beeped with a text.
    Horror washed over her at the photo that appeared. A young woman lying on the ground. Naked. Blood soaking her chest. Her cheek carved out.
    Dear God, was it real?

    He walked amongst the locals, invisible to their eyes. They were all caught up in the past. In their grief and anger and pain.
    In the injustices and the need for someone to blame.
    Reporters ran through the throng, taking notes and asking questions, hoping to find the spotlight for their bylines. The movie producers had arrived in their fancy cars and trucks with cameras and makeup artists and talent scouts.
    The actors and actor wannabes were coming in droves.
    The vision of the girl he’d left by that motel surfaced, spiking his adrenaline. He lifted his hands, the scent of soap and the woman’s skin mingling with the fresh scent of blood.
    Ah, she had been so beautiful.
    But she’d had to die.
    Someone brushed his arm as they hurried past. Another pretty girl. Another fake smile.
    He trembled with excitement. Yes, Graveyard Falls was the perfect hunting ground.
    And the perfect place to hide.

CHAPTER TWO
    Dane wiped his hand over his forehead, sweating in spite of the chill in his body. He couldn’t help but think about this poor woman’s family and what lay ahead for them. About the last few minutes of her life. Had she been terrified? Begged for the man to stop tormenting her?
    Those were the same questions he’d asked about Betsy. Questions that still made him wake in a sweat. And the ones that had finally driven his mother over the edge. A few months ago, she’d fallen into such a depression that he’d had to commit her to a mental health care nursing home called the Loving Arms. The people were nice, but he still felt guilty every time he left her there.
    The home was close to Graveyard Falls.
    Dr. Wheeland scratched his head. “I can’t believe we’ve got another murder in town. Folks around here are barely getting over the nightmare of those Bride Killings.”
    “I know. I heard they’re making a movie based on Josie DuKane’s book.”
    “Damnedest thing.” Dr. Wheeland checked the victim’s feet. “Charlene Linder probably thinks she’s going to be a celebrity.”
    “Maybe that’s what this creep wants, too.” All the more reason for Dane to analyze the scene carefully. Details would help find the unsub.
    Once again, he studied the woman. Her long hair had probably looked nice earlier, although now it was dotted with blood and lay in a tangled mess around her face. The leaves and debris from the ground weren’t embedded in the strands, suggesting she was probably killed in another location. Or that she was dead when she hit the ground. If she’d been alive and fighting, her hair would have been filled with dirt.
    “TOD?” he asked.
    “Judging from her body temp,” Dr. Wheeland replied, “I’d say she died sometime last night.”
    Anger heated Dane’s blood as he studied the sharp marks on her face. As many times as he’d seen death and the pain one human inflicted on another, the cruelty still bothered him. “How about the talon marks? Postmortem?”
    The ME’s lips stretched thin. “No, look at the blood splatters. He did that before he killed her.”
    Despite his disgust, Dane tried to get in the mind of the killer. “So he wanted her to feel the pain, to know that he was marking her. Scarring her.”
    “Probably.” Wheeland examined the woman’s chest