Read Shades of Murder (The Mac Faraday Mysteries) for Free Online Page A

discipline. Long on love.
    How, but for the grace of God, did I ended up where I am and Oliver Cartwright grow up to become a monster? How is it that I grew up to have a distinguished career with five good kids; while this man has been locked up for the rest of his living days for killing seven women? Was it the reason behind why his own parents didn’t raise him?
    Joshua’s parents had been killed in a car accident while driving back home from a second honeymoon.
    Oliver Cartwright’s father was unknown. His mother had run off to Hollywood to be a star, and had ended up a prostitute on Hollywood and Vine.
    Joshua was startled out of his thoughts by the clearing of a throat. The reverend was waiting for him to join them at the table on the other side of the room.
    The clang of the door shutting behind him made him jump.
    The serial killer had his head bowed with his palms pressed together. Reverend Brody placed his hand on his shoulder to join him in prayer. Joshua remained on the other side of the room until they were finished.
    The man in the orange overalls lifted his head and smiled so broadly at Joshua that his shiny scalp wrinkled around his ears. “Mr. Joshua Thornton. You did come.” He turned to the pastor. “It really works. Prayers are answered. I can’t believe he came.” He turned back to the lawyer. “I prayed you would come.”
    The absence of words caused Joshua to answer with a silent nod. He wondered if this was some sort of mistake.
    The serial killer that had held Pittsburgh and its surrounding area in a grip of terror during the summer of 2003 was a devil-worshipper with a full head of blond hair and bushy beard.
    Is it really possible for a serial killing atheist to become a born again Christian? Has to be a trick.
    “Sit down, Joshua.” Reverend Brody offered him a chair at the table.
    “Thank you for your prayers, Reverend.” Oliver clasped his hand. “They’re helping. I’ve been sleeping better, and now Joshua Thornton is here—”
    “I’m not making any promises,” Joshua sat in the chair across from him. “The reverend didn’t even tell me what this was about. I only came because he asked.”
    “But now you’re here.” Oliver flashed a wide grin filled with yellow teeth. “I have faith that you’ll help, and God will make things right. He is just. That’s why I’m here.” He indicated the prison walls. “ This is where I belong.”
    Joshua slowly nodded his head before casting him a sidelong glance.
    The killer’s smile dropped. “I know what you’re thinking. I’m a monster. Right? That’s what you’re thinking.”
    Joshua couldn’t stop the glare that he flashed across the table at the killer.
    “You’re right. I was a monster.” Oliver let out an evil- sounding laugh. “I confessed. Hell, I was proud of what I did. Now, I’m ashamed of it. I’m ashamed of what I was. I pray for those women—and their families.” The grin dropped from his face. “It took about seven years to sink in, but God did it. Suddenly, it all happened and—I’m not the same man I was when I killed those women. That man is dead.”
    “You were born again?” Joshua was still suspicious.
    “I’ve asked for forgiveness—why He would forgive me? Anyone would forgive me?—but—” Oliver choked up. “I know I don’t deserve it. That’s why, I want there to be one good thing that I leave behind.” Tears came to his eyes. “That’s why you’re here. I can’t do it, but you can. Reverend Body said you’re the one man who cares enough to do it—not for me—for her.”
    “Her who?” Joshua asked.
    “Jane Doe,” Oliver said. “Victim Number Four.”
    “He wasn’t charged for her murder,” Reverend Brody said.
    “Because I didn’t do her.”
    “That’s why you weren’t charged with her murder,” Joshua said. “You were charged with six murders out of seven victims attributed to you.”
    “That’s right,” Oliver said, “Everyone thinks I did that