Cold Hearted. Beverly Barton

      

      PATTERN OF VICTIMS

      “You already know that Daniel Price was not Jordan Price’s first husband, don’t you?” Maleah asked.

      “Yeah,” Rick said. “So what?”

      “She was a widow when she married the senator, so now at the ripe old age of thirty-four, she’s been widowed twice. Actually, she was almost widowed three times.”

      “Explain.”

      “When she was twenty-one, she was engaged to a man named Robby Joe Wright. Three weeks before their wedding, he died in a one-car accident. Then a few years later, when the lady was in her late twenties, she lost husband number one, Boyd Brannon, in a hunting accident, and now her second husband supposedly committed suicide. Odd, don’t you think, that three men who loved Jordan Price have died?”

      “Are you saying you think she killed all three men?”

      “Maybe. Possibly. I’m going to dig deeper and find out if she gained financially from Robby Joe Wright’s death or Boyd Brannon’s death. Want to bet me that she did?”

      A sick feeling hit Rick in the pit of his stomach. “If I was sure the lady was innocent, I’d take you up on that bet.”

      “But you’re not sure, are you? You’re wondering, just like I am, if maybe Jordan Price is a black widow…”

      Books by Beverly Barton

      AFTER DARK

      EVERY MOVE SHE

      MAKES

      WHAT SHE

      DOESN’T KNOW

      THE FIFTH VICTIM

      THE LAST TO DIE

      AS GOOD

      AS DEAD

      KILLING HER

      SOFTLY

      CLOSE ENOUGH

      TO KILL

      MOST LIKELY

      TO DIE

      THE DYING

      GAME

      THE MURDER

      GAME

      COLD HEARTED

      SILENT KILLER

      DEAD

      BY MIDNIGHT

      DON’T CRY

      DEAD

      BY MORNING

      DEAD

      BY NIGHTFALL

      DON’T SAY

      A WORD

      JUST THE WAY

      YOU ARE

      THE RIGHT WIFE

      (available as an e-book)

      Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

      PINNACLE BOOKS are published by

      Kensington Publishing Corp.

      119 West 40th Street

      New York, NY 10018

      Copyright © 2008 Beverly Beaver

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

      If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

      All Kensington titles, imprints, and distributed lines are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, educational, or institutional use. Special book excerpts or customized printings can also be created to fit specific needs. For details, write or phone the office of the Kensing -ton sales manager: Kensington Publishing Corp., 119 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018, attn: Sales Department; phone [phone].

      PINNACLE BOOKS and the Pinnacle logo are Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

      ISBN-13: 978-0-7860-4329-3

      ISBN-10: 0-7860-4329-6

      First Zebra mass market paperback printing: September 2008

      First Pinnacle edition: August 2019

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

      Printed in the United States of America

      Pinnacle electronic edition: August 2019

      ISBN-13: 978-0-7860-4333-0 (e-book)

      ISBN-10: 0-7860-4333-4 (e-book)

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Chapter 27

      Chapter 28

      Chapter 29

      Chapter 30

      Chapter 31

      Chapter 32

      Chapter 33

      Epilogue

      Prologue

      Perhaps the best thing he could do for himself and everyone he loved was to commit suicide.

      Dan Price stared at the Glock pistol lying atop his desk. He had bought the 9mm automatic for his wife, but she had refused the gift, politely reminding him of her aversion to guns. But at his insistence, she had gone with him to the practice range and learned to use the weapon, only to please him. But to his knowledge, she had never carried the pistol, never kept it in her room or in her car.

      If his sweet Jordan had any idea that he was contemplating taking his own life, she would do her best to convince him that no matter what the future held, she would stand by him. It was her basic integrity and loyalty that had first attracted him to the woman who had become his greatest political asset.

      Dan lifted the half-full glass of Kentucky bourbon to his lips and finished off the remainder. The liquor