Tainted by Sin

Tainted by SinTouch of Evil - Book Seven Kennedy LayneKennedy Layne Publishing, Inc. Copyright © 2023 by Kennedy Layne Cover Designer: Sweet ’N Spicy DesignsALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. DedicationJeffrey — No one makes coffee like you do…thank you for the extra dashes of cinnamon! I love you!Cole — I love you to the moon and back! About the Book USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne returns to the Touch of Evil series with a new riveting thriller, where nothing is ever as it seems… Fifteen years ago, four families, across three states, were brutally murdered in their homes. It took sixteen months for a team of federal agents to capture the serial killer responsible. For over a decade, Elijah Barone has been serving multiple life sentences in a maximum-security prison, bringing relief across the country and closure to the victims' loved ones. Former FBI consultant Brooklyn Sloane needs a distraction from her life, both personally and professionally. In search of a much-needed break, she agrees to teach a class on criminal profiling at a local university. It is during a class assignment on successfully closed cases that the light is shined on the truth. Elijah Barone is a cold-blooded killer, but he isn't responsible for killing the Knox family, which means another killer is still stalking from the shadows. The brutality of the murders leaves Brook unable to walk away from the case. But as she looks deeper into the past, the killer's identity all points back to someone who belongs to the Knox family. Brook knows all too well that family secrets can't remain buried. She, alongside her team, won't stop until the killer is brought to justice. Only this killer knows how to remain hidden—and he'll do whatever is necessary to silence the truth. Contents 1. Chapter One 2. Chapter Two 3. Chapter Three 4. Chapter Four 5. Chapter Five 6. Chapter Six 7. Chapter Seven 8. Chapter Eight 9. Chapter Nine 10. Chapter Ten 11. Chapter Eleven 12. Chapter Twelve 13. Chapter Thirteen 14. Chapter Fourteen 15. Chapter Fifteen 16. Chapter Sixteen 17. Chapter Seventeen 18. Chapter Eighteen 19. Chapter Nineteen 20. Chapter Twenty 21. Chapter Twenty-One 22. Chapter Twenty-Two 23. Chapter Twenty-Three 24. Chapter Twenty-Four 25. Chapter Twenty-Five 26. Chapter Twenty-Six 27. Chapter Twenty-Seven 28. Chapter Twenty-Eight Other Books By Kennedy Layne About the Author Chapter One Brooklyn Walsh June 2007 Sunday — 2:07pmThe rustling of cornstalks resembled faint whispers as a light breeze swept through the fields. The farmers had been fortunate enough to plant their crops earlier in the season due to warm weather, and the flourishing stalks were already six feet tall. Whereas a shorter individual could not see overtop the cornfield, the linear rows seemed to stretch without end. Brook stood before a small opening between the cornstalks, torn between whether she should enter or turn back. Technically, she was at the back of Mr. Herring’s cornfield that covered at least three hundred acres, if not more. The graduation party for his son, Aaron Herring, was at the main house another half mile up the road. Even though Aaron had been on the football team and was fairly popular with his classmates, the corn maze was the real reason why everyone in town was attending the celebration. The only purpose for the U-turn that she’d made a few moments ago was that she’d thought she’d seen her brother from a distance. She hadn’t had to venture too far down the side road to locate the area where she’d spotted him.Jacob hadn’t been alone, either.Brook could have sworn that her best friend had been with him, but that couldn’t have been possible. Sally wasn’t a fan of Jacob, and she certainly wouldn’t have been caught traipsing off into a corn maze with him. While Brook hadn’t been completely truthful with Sally regarding her suspicions about Jacob, her best friend had been wary of him all the same. There was something off about him. Something dangerous, which was why Brook found herself standing in front of a cornfield by herself along the edge of a backcountry road trying to think of any excuse as to why the two of them might be together.Sally would never willingly go anywhere with Jacob—unless Brook’s parents had thrown her a graduation party, too. Had her mother and father asked Sally to help set up some type of surprise? Brook couldn’t imagine that being the case, because everyone had been talking about Aaron’s graduation party on the last day of school. Their class ceremony wasn’t until next Friday, but that hadn’t stopped all the scheduled celebrations around town.She glanced over her shoulder to where she’d left the engine running in her mom’s car. As there were no other vehicles in sight, maybe Sally and Jacob were the lookouts. Brook’s mom and dad could have asked them to monitor the main road and let them know when she arrived. Sally’s father knew someone who worked at Apple, and he’d been able to score his daughter an iPhone before its official launch date at the end of the month. She could easily be calling up to the main house right now to inform them that Brook was only mere minutes away. Only Brook had overheard Mr. Herring at the diner yesterday talking about his brother and sister-in-law coming to Aaron’s graduation party. Considering they lived in Arizona and hadn’t been back to the area for over eight years, it was quite the reunion. Plus, it wasn’t as if her parents and the Herrings were close. They especially weren’t close enough to throw a combined graduation party for their children.Brook wished that she hadn’t been running behind this afternoon,