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Edge of Midnight
Leslie Tentler
The collection isn't complete without her.… The writer becomes the story when crime reporter Mia Hale is discovered on a Jacksonville beach—bloodied and disoriented, but alive. She remembers nothing, but her wounds bear the signature of a sadistic serial killer.After years lying dormant, The Collector has resumed his grim hobby: abducting women and taking gruesome souvenirs before dumping their bodies. But none of his victims has ever escaped—and he wants Mia back, more than he ever wanted any of the others.FBI agent Eric MacFarlane has pursued The Collector for a long time. The case runs deep in his veins, bordering on obsession…and Mia holds the key. She'll risk everything to recover her memory and bring the madman to justice, and Eric swears to protect this fierce, fragile survivor. But The Collector will not be denied. In his mind, he knows just how their story ends."The shivers are worthy of a Lisa Jackson." —Publishers Weekly on Midnight Caller
The collection isn’t complete without her.…
The writer becomes the story when crime reporter Mia Hale is discovered on a Jacksonville beach—bloodied and disoriented, but alive. She remembers nothing, but her wounds bear the signature of a sadistic serial killer. After years lying dormant, The Collector has resumed his grim hobby: abducting women and taking gruesome souvenirs before dumping their bodies. But none of his victims has ever escaped—and he wants Mia back, more than he ever wanted any of the others.
FBI agent Eric MacFarlane has pursued The Collector for a long time. The case runs deep in his veins, bordering on obsession…and Mia holds the key. She’ll risk everything to recover her memory and bring the madman to justice, and Eric swears to protect this fierce, fragile survivor. But The Collector will not be denied. In his mind, he knows just how their story ends.
The writer becomes the story when crime reporter Mia Hale is discovered on a Jacksonville beach—bloodied and disoriented, but alive. She remembers nothing, but her wounds bear the signature of a sadistic serial killer. After years lying dormant, The Collector has resumed his grim hobby: abducting women and taking gruesome souvenirs before dumping their bodies. But none of his victims has ever escaped—and he wants Mia back, more than he ever wanted any of the others.
FBI agent Eric MacFarlane has pursued The Collector for a long time. The case runs deep in his veins, bordering on obsession…and Mia holds the key. She’ll risk everything to recover her memory and bring the madman to justice, and Eric swears to protect this fierce, fragile survivor. But The Collector will not be denied. In his mind, he knows just how their story ends.
“The shivers are worthy of a Lisa Jackson.”
—Publishers Weekly on Midnight Caller
Praise for Leslie Tentler’s
Chasing Evil trilogy
MIDNIGHT CALLER
“A smooth prose style and an authentic
Big Easy vibe distinguish Tentler’s debut…
the shivers are worthy of a Lisa Jackson.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Filled with suspense and mystery and
centered around a compelling plot with a
terrifying villain…this is one riveting read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A romantic thriller that continually
keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Midnight Caller is a heart-thumping page turner…
Ms. Tentler’s debut plants her solidly into the
romantic suspense genre with a bang.”
—Romance Junkies
MIDNIGHT FEAR
“…Mesmerizing… Tentler’s ability to draw out suspense while wrapping it in captivating,
visceral fear is amplified in this exceptional thriller…impossible to put down.”
—Examiner.com
“The chilling look inside the mind of a
serial killer will haunt readers long after
[it] reaches its stunning conclusion.”
—The Reader’s Round Table
“It isn’t too often that I read a good mystery
where I don’t see the ending coming…
all of the twists and turns make this story
a roller coaster of a ride [and] well worth the read.”
—Nocturne Reads
“An amazing story.
The murders and mystery are chilling.…”
—Romance Books Forum
Edge of Midnight
Leslie Tentler
www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)
For my husband, Robert.
I love you.
Contents
Prologue (#u3d081fa4-c32e-5a59-8380-68f6c1ae2a56)
Chapter 1 (#u1612dd82-197e-5d2d-9a3c-80d0e8d6eb09)
Chapter 2 (#u9422c18e-3d9a-5720-a78c-29bb07fac659)
Chapter 3 (#u114f0157-56e5-5f72-a98f-ccff407a37c1)
Chapter 4 (#uc2d98814-7ba7-5ed9-9630-5961f85d05e8)
Chapter 5 (#ua6aa171f-4d9b-5bdf-bb42-84327e042dda)
Chapter 6 (#u74ba7fe7-934b-5339-affb-68b7b7386b16)
Chapter 7 (#ud47fae8d-d481-5342-bacf-01fafda3c597)
Chapter 8 (#u087ca65b-94c6-5996-ad5a-4efcbccb6b12)
Chapter 9 (#u1fc29475-05ce-5a7e-af44-20a8b1005194)
Chapter 10 (#u6f7b493d-1eb8-51a5-9ecc-419253c74b14)
Chapter 11 (#ub6b5b338-fc45-5436-8e55-ceb9c838298c)
Chapter 12 (#u546d405a-f2c6-567f-9628-97b866478735)
Chapter 13 (#ufca44396-5d3c-5692-b540-0fbe00950efe)
Chapter 14 (#ufa1ecedb-1aaa-5f34-b475-dd84bb507a43)
Chapter 15 (#ue6f3aa27-6a35-5c96-bc11-c6a91ad858d8)
Chapter 16 (#u65888fb9-09f1-51cc-bd97-683fac136f20)
Chapter 17 (#u1e6904c7-8952-5492-8515-ed866daa925d)
Chapter 18 (#u76aad757-3ee6-507c-988c-a5238fc585b1)
Chapter 19 (#u432c7fcf-f3af-5354-834c-11d87d8afcd7)
Chapter 20 (#u19ed482d-6556-528e-9a5a-2089b795f529)
Chapter 21 (#u3f61ec3d-c203-5690-ad42-0648610edf82)
Chapter 22 (#u75f95b5c-24e5-5d84-8da2-cbf6ce116453)
Chapter 23 (#udbacdfb1-eb61-5ab1-b75b-488b2f76edf6)
Chapter 24 (#ud157bc68-a413-5a58-b46b-cec45a61b070)
Chapter 25 (#u339e48c4-650a-5d84-9650-905f515b5922)
Chapter 26 (#u65e1106e-9cc5-54fa-954d-fc5b25feccd7)
Chapter 27 (#ub37e468c-51bc-5c38-b574-7ea7c06733f5)
Chapter 28 (#ude410635-dddc-5a0f-8cf5-03d75dce88de)
Chapter 29 (#ucc9637d4-06ef-58f5-a7aa-73f219833d2a)
Chapter 30 (#ub4af934b-46ee-5f4b-85ab-78aa984521a6)
Chapter 31 (#u7e0f27d3-d079-5d3c-9b64-8b25139a9d77)
Chapter 32 (#uc430a98d-6688-5c87-aa9e-dea270e52e13)
Chapter 33 (#u7bb2ebd2-0b45-5ebd-ba97-331b4ed6e040)
Chapter 34 (#u358b0197-0306-5159-a3e8-c0441cdfa266)
Chapter 35 (#u3ad7489e-f265-52ff-ac6a-f8f501eacd48)
Chapter 36 (#u5eb0551a-84dd-5230-802e-9c1acb8bceb7)
Chapter 37 (#u897e9cd2-3921-5125-9244-f211b286ecb4)
Chapter 38 (#uce322c37-4e03-56fb-b15d-6f4c8474e423)
Chapter 39 (#udf8e0b51-2ec9-5d44-9e3a-db45649fb933)
Chapter 40 (#u057d679a-f32b-5cb5-9d76-f87b4a4497fb)
Chapter 41 (#u0d58197e-8918-5f94-96ff-0b77f858c9f1)
Epilogue (#ufe5f78c9-8ae5-579b-989f-5463b15c94c1)
Prologue
Atlantic Beach
Outside Jacksonville, Florida
Officer John Penotti took a sip of his rapidly cooling coffee, fighting the drowsiness that always came in the last remaining hours before daybreak. Listening to the command radio’s static, he peered through the cruiser’s windshield as it traveled along a remote portion of state road A1A. His partner, Tommy Haggard, was behind the wheel, humming a tune that had been playing at the all-night diner they’d recently departed. The rain had ended and beside them, the endless stretch of the Atlantic appeared to be nearly one with the blackened sky, with only the foamy whitecaps of ocean waves breaking through the darkness.
“You taking vacation this summer?” Tommy asked.
“You sound like my wife. I keep telling her we already live at the beach.”
Tommy kept his left arm poised coolly on the window’s rim as he used his right hand to steer the cruiser. He was younger than John by a decade and still had the energy to do more than sit in front of his television with a cold beer on his days off. “So do something different. Go hiking in the mountains, or take the kids to Disney World.”
“They’re getting too old for it.”
