The Experts Praise
Silent Screams
“Criminally compelling, Silent Screams nails you to your seat with a fascinating NYPD profiler who’s hurled into the case of his lifetime. This journey into violence and the soul is unforgettable.”
—Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Spies and The Last Spymaster
“Pulse-racing, compelling, first rate. Lawrence knows how to build and hold suspense with the best of them…a wild ride down a dark road.”
—John Lutz, New York Times bestselling author of Urge to Kill
“C. E. Lawrence has achieved a rare level of authenticity, not only in character development but also in the realistic use of behavioral science. If you want to read a serial-killer thriller that’s solidly based on frightening reality, this is the one.”
—Louis B Schlesinger, Ph.D., professor of forensic psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
“C. E. Lawrence delivers finely honed suspense, with unique twists, and accurately captures the logic and intuition of a profiler under pressure.”
—Katherine Ramsland, professor of forensic psychology, and author of The Devil’s Dozen
“Silent Screams is a wickedly brilliant, carefully wrought thriller where the roles of hunter and hunted are skillfully blurred…an escalating torrent of murder you won’t soon forget.”
—Gregg McCrary, author of The Unknown Darkness: Profiling the Predators Among Us; former supervisory special agent in the FBI’s Behavior Science Unit
“Silent Screams beckons C. E. Lawrence to become a repeat offender in the thriller genre.”
—Marina Stajić, Ph.D., DABFT, president of American Board of Forensic Toxicology
SILENT SCREAMS
C. E. LAWRENCE
PINNACLE BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
For Mom and Charles
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks first and foremost to my editor, Michaela Hamilton, whose vision, wisdom and insight proved invaluable throughout the rewrite process. Thanks also to my agent, Paige Wheeler, for her unfailing good cheer and support, and to Dr. Lewis Schlesinger, a fine teacher whose excellent course in criminal psychology at John Jay College for Criminal Justice was essential to my research. Thanks to my colleague Marvin Kaye for his support and friendship, and special thanks to Gregg McCrary, for his invaluable advice and generosity. Special thanks also to Robert Murphy and Rachel Fallon for providing the ideal retreats in which to work—and to Fred and the other fine folks at the Long Eddy Hotel for the delicious sustenance during the long rewrite process. My deepest gratitude to the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, New York, for the five years I spent in my beloved cabin, Varenka. It is the happiest place I have ever lived. Thanks too to Haw-thornden Castle International Writers Retreat for providing a wonderful month in the most idyllic setting I can imagine—and to Martin, Angie, Mary and Doris for putting up with me. Thanks and gratitude to Chris Buggé for bailing me out of a tight spot, to Beth Andrasak for her insight and friendship, and to Susan Schulman for her patience and continued support. Thanks to my mother and Joan Lawrence for their insightful feedback, to Anthony Moore for his companionship and advice, and to NYPD Detectives Joseph Cavitolo and John Sweeney, as well as civilian NYPD liaison John Kelly, for their patience and professional advice. Last but far from least, my deepest gratitude to Amanda George for her guidance and willingness to shepherd me through a very dark forest.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter Forty-eight
Chapter Forty-nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-one
Chapter Fifty-two
Chapter Fifty-three
Chapter Fifty-four
Chapter Fifty-five
Chapter Fifty-six
Chapter Fifty-seven
Chapter Fifty-eight
Chapter Fifty-nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-one
Chapter Sixty-two
Chapter Sixty-three
Chapter Sixty-four
Chapter Sixty-five
Chapter Sixty-six
Chapter One
Lee Campbell stood looking at the naked body draped over the altar of the church. The girl’s delicate white skin was pale as the cold marble floor beneath his feet, in stark contrast to the vivid red wounds slashed across her torso and the purple bruising around her neck.
“Come on, Marie, talk to me,” he whispered. He bent down over her, looking for petechial hemorrhaging in or around the eyes, but could find none. The lack of patterned abrasions meant there had been no ligature. “So he used his hands,” he murmured.