by Sam Anthony
Ava approached the swaying corpse and reached up to put a hand on her father’s neck, feeling for a pulse, but there was nothing. He was still warm, but he was definitely dead.
On the bed behind Steve there was a plain white envelope with ‘PC Patel’ written on the front in his familiar scrawly handwriting.
Ava opened it.
Inside there were two pieces of paper. The first read:
PC Patel
Ava will be home at 4:30 p.m.
Give her the other note.
DON’T LET HER SEE ME LIKE THIS!
She unfolded the second piece of paper. It read:
Ava
I’m so sorry, Pumpkin.
I can’t live with what I’ve done.
Please try to forgive me.
I love you.
Dad x
There was one final message from her father, written in his own blood on the wall beside his hanging body. Just one word:
MANDY
On the floor near his dangling feet, Ava spotted her father’s mobile phone; its screen lit up showing an active call, a tinny voice coming from the speaker.
Ava picked up the phone and put it to her ear.
“Mr O’Connor, can you hear me? Help is on the way. Talk to me, please.”
“He’s gone,” Ava breathed.
“Hello? Who is this? What’s happening? Emergency vehicles are nearly with you.”
“Tell them to slow down. There’s no emergency. He’s dead.”
She dropped the phone.
“You fucking coward!” Ava screamed at her father’s corpse. “What about me? I need you.”
There were no tears. She wasn’t sad; she was furious. Furious with her mother for dying. Furious with her father for killing himself. But mostly furious with the two evil bitches who had destroyed her life.
Bitch one was Mandy. The girl who had seduced her father, thereby causing her mother’s death and her father’s suicide.
Bitch two was Jemima. The girl who had made everyone at school despise her, and who had framed her for multiple crimes.
The two bitches had one thing in common. They were both strikingly beautiful teenage girls. In Ava’s experience, pretty girls were always the same: self-obsessed, arrogant and thoughtless. But beautiful girls, the absolute stunners, they were in a league of their own. They were pure evil. All they did was cause pain and destruction wherever they went.
Ava knew what she had to do.
She selected a glass dildo from the chest of sex toys, smeared it with her father’s blood, held it in the air, and swore a solemn oath to avenge his senseless death. She was going to make it her life’s work to seek out the most beautiful girls in the country. The superior, haughty, overweening bitches. She would find them and murder them one by one, before it was too late. Before they had a chance to grow into adults and destroy any more lives.
Ava took one last look at her father and walked away.
Chapter 87
Monday 22 December, 2003
The A40, 3:15 p.m.
Ava stood shivering on the slip road, reading her book and glancing up occasionally to stick out a freckled thumb every time a vehicle drove past. She took off her hat and ruffled her bimetallic copper and silver hair, allowing it to blow around in the breeze.
A lorry stopped, air brakes hissing like a cornered cat (Felis catus).
The driver lowered his window and leaned out. “Where ya headed, sweetheart?”
“That depends. Where are you going?”
“Milton Keynes.”
“Then that’s where I’m going.”
“Hop in.”
Ava shouldered her rucksack and climbed into the toasty cab, relieved to be escaping the chill wind.
The driver was fat, fiftyish and friendly. Once the lorry was up to speed, he glanced down at Ava’s lap and said, “What ya readin’?”
“A book my dad bought me for my birthday: The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie. Have you read it?”
“Me? Nah. No time for readin’. Any good?”
“It’s very good. I’ve nearly finished it.”
Ava picked up the book and located her place. Hercule Poirot had just discovered the identity of the serial killer.
“What’s your name, kid?” the lorry driver asked.
Without thinking Ava replied, “Franklin. Franklin Clarke.”
“Sounds like a boy’s name to me.”
Ava smiled. “People call me Frankie.”
The Beginning
The Adulterer
Lee Bolton has a perfect life ... then he embarks on an affair and nothing will ever be the same again!
The Adulterer's Handbook
I'm about to jump into the canal and pull her to safety when I stop at the edge of the towpath.
What if I DO NOTHING ...?
The story of a happily married man, desperately trying to prevent his wife from finding out about his affair. For months he is successful, but then things take a dark turn...
A love story, a betrayal, an accident, a murder? You decide.
The Adulterer's Confession
Two strangers meet on a plane.
One has a terrible confession to make. But is it safe to tell a stranger?
The other is haunted by past mistakes and looking for a fresh start.
Over the course of their ten-hour flight they come to know each other’s deepest, darkest secrets.
Is confession good for the soul or is it better to keep your crimes bottled up inside?
The Adulterer's Dilemma
It’s lonely being a serial killer!
What a dilemma:
Should he confess his crimes, seek absolution, hand himself over to the police, and serve a long prison sentence … or continue to live in the shadow of overwhelming guilt, and stay on the run with his beautiful pregnant lover?
What happens when an adulterer meets a serial killer?
The Adulterer's Trial
Everyone has a secret. How much would you pay to keep yours?
Lee wakes from a coma to find himself about to face trial for double homicide.
His lover is dead. His wife is dead. His lawyer is hot! His girlfriend is jealous.
And, to make matters worse, the Alphabet Killer remains at large.
The Adulterer's Temptation
After forty-eight years of being led astray by a certain part of his anatomy, Lee has one more chance to redeem himself.
Why has he been rescued on the way to serve a life sentence in prison ... by a serial killer!
What does she want from him?
Will he assist her in order to protect his family?
Will he resist her and risk everything?
The Adulterer's Daughter
The making of a serial killer!
6 friends, 2 die! Who, when, where, why?
Three married couples and their children go on holiday together and meet regularly for social gatherings. At first their lives seem idyllic, but beneath the surface, all is not what it seems.
Within a year, two of the adults will be dead!
... and a serial killer will be created!
The Adulterer's Choice
I'm about to jump into the canal and pull her to safety when I stop at the edge of the towpath.
What will happen if I DO?
Find out what might have been if Lee had made a different choice and rescued Sophia, his pregnant blackmailer, instead.
Will he save his marriage?
Will his wife’s secret life remain hidden?
Will anybody die … this time?
Tales Of Adultery & Infatuation
Thirty-eight cautionary tales to make you think twice before cheating!
From the author of The Adulterer Series, Tales Of Adultery & Infatuation is a collection of short stories with a jaw-dropping twist in the tail.
Don't miss this gripping anthology about the unforeseen consequences of infidelity, featuring some of the characters from The Adulterer Series.