Breaking Silence (Kate Burkholder)

433 Pages·2011·1.17 MB·English

by  Linda Castillo

This book is dedicated to my
family: my husband, Ernest, my
real-life hero; and Debbie and
Jack Sargent for all the good
times. I love you all.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The creative process is a long and sometimes
arduous journey. As with every book, I have many
people to thank, either for their expertise or moral
support along the way. First, I wish to thank my agent,
Nancy Yost, because she is brilliant and she always
gets it. I thank my editor, Charles Spicer, whose
editorial genius is just the tip of the iceberg. In the
U.K., many thanks to my editor, Trisha Jackson, and
her assistant, Thalia Suzuma, for her terrific editorial
direction and enthusiasm for the books (not to
mention the lovely vase of flowers on release day)! As
always, my heartfelt gratitude also goes out to all of
the top-notch publishing professionals at St. Martin’s
Press in New York: Matthew Shear, Sally Richardson,
Andy Martin, Matthew Baldacci, Sarah Melnyk, Bob
Podrasky, Kerry Nordling, and Allison Caplin. No
doubt there are many more talented people I failed to
mention, but please know I am thankful for your
expertise, support, and enthusiasm. I’d also like to
extend a big thank-you to my childhood friend Colleen
Jessup, for welcoming me into her home during my
many trips to Ohio, and for that fantastic ride on her
Tennessee Walker, Sonny. Finally, I would be remiss
if I didn’t mention my fabulous, dedicated, and
talented critique group: Jennifer Archer, Anita
Howard, Marcy McKay, and April Redmon. Thank
you, ladies. You make it fun, and you always make it
better.
These be
Three silent things:
The falling snow … the hour
Before the dawn … the mouth of one
Just dead.
—“Triad,” by Adelaide Crapsey
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraph
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
Also by Linda Castillo
Copyright
PROLOGUE
The dogs were going to be a problem.
He’d driven by the place twice in the last week,
headlights off, windows down, looking, listening.
Planning. He’d heard them barking from their pens.
Fuckin’ beagles. He could see the tops of the chain-
link kennels from the road. At least a half dozen of
them. The old lady had a whole herd of flea-bitten,
barking mutts. But then, that’s what dirty old bitches
did. Collected dirty animals. Lived like a pig herself. If
she thought dogs would keep them from doing what
needed to be done, she had something else coming.
Something else.
The wind had come up in the last hour, hard enough
to rattle the tree branches. The cold wasn’t a
hardship; the wind would help cover any noise. With a
little luck, they might even get some rain or snow.
Messy with the mud, but messy was good when you
didn’t want to get caught.
He’d killed the headlights a mile back. Lowered the