04.Die.My.Love.2007 (47 page)

How could they? For the rest of their lives, every Halloween, pumpkins, scarecrows and trick or treat would recall the horror of October 30, 2004.

In the prison that afternoon we met, Piper had told me:

“No one loves a child as much as a mother. It’s a special love, an overwhelming love, greater than any other love.”

Yet, was Piper’s obsession with her children really love?

I thought about the passage from the Bible, 1 Corinthians, the one read at nearly every wedding. Love, it says, is patient, kind, without envy and pride, never rude, and not Author’s Note / 353

easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs, always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. “If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal,” it reads. If I “have not love, I am nothing.”

If she’d ever known, somewhere along the way, Piper had forgotten what it means to truly love. She loved no one more than herself: Not her sister, who she remained willing to sacrifice, nor Jocelyn, Paxton, and Callie, whom she’d selfishly robbed of their father.

Ultimately, no matter how often Piper had spoken of angels, the voice that guided her the morning she murdered Fred was far from heavenly. In the end, Piper Rountree was seduced by greed, revenge, hatred, and evil.

Acknowledgments

This was a particularly challenging book to research and write, requiring tracking down sources in Texas, Virginia, New York, Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin. As with my first three books, Jim Loosen at JAL Data Services in Seattle worked wonders. He was tenacious even when the trail grew cold, and his help made all the difference. Thank you, Jim, more than I can say.

Secondly, thank you to my readers: Claire Cassidy, Pamela Guthrie-O’Brien, and Terry Bachman. Your input was in-sightful and much appreciated. Special thanks to Connie Choate and Sandy Sheehy for their continued encouragement.

To Eleanor Richardson of Eleanor’s Legal Support in Los Angeles for tracking down Florida rec ords.

Many thanks to my editor at HarperCollins, Sarah Durand.

My gratitude goes out to Melody Foster in Richmond, Virginia, and John Daly, at the University of Texas in Austin. You were both patient and kind, and your guidance was invaluable.

Lastly and most importantly, thank you to the many readers who’ve discovered my books, enjoyed them, and taken the time to recommend them to others. There’s been little publicity for my work, and your kind endorsements have made a world of difference, enabling me to continue what I so enjoy, zeroing in on a fascinating case and dedicating myself to understanding the who, what, how, and, most important, why.

About the Author

K A T H R Y N C A S E Y

is a Houston-based journalist who has written for Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Newsweek, Texas Monthly, and many other publications. She is the author of three previous true crime books.

Visit her website at www.kathryncasey.com.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

Praise fo
r previous true crime books by

KATHRYN CASEY

She Wanted It All

“A compelling, detailed, and shocking insider’s look at a murderous Southern ‘belle.’ Kathryn Casey is one of the best true crime writers today, and she explores the incredible crimes of Celeste Beard with a deft and experienced hand.”

Ann Rule

“Few murderers merit the pen of today’s smartest true crime writers. Celeste Beard is one of those rare—

albeit evil—female criminal minds only an author with Kathryn Casey’s sharp instincts and expert journalistic skills can unravel. With
She Wanted It All,
Casey stakes her claim as one of the best in the business.”

M. William Phelps, investigative journalist and author of
Perfect Poison

“[A] vivid tale . . . frenetically paced.”

Houston Press

A Warrant to Kill

“Kathryn Casey has crafted a gripping psychological study—a real-life nightmare wherein the darkest form of evil wears the disguise of a trusted public servant.

A book as fascinating as it is troubling.”

Carlton Stowers, Edgar® Award- winning author of
Careless Whispers

Books by Kathryn Casey

Die, My Love

She Wanted It All

A Warrant to Kill

The Rapist’s Wife

Copyright

DIE, MY LOVE. Copyright © 2007 by Kathryn Casey.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader March 2007

ISBN 978-0-06-133858-8

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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• Title Page
  
• Dedication Page
  
• Epigraph Page
  
• Contents
  
  • Chapter One
    
  • Chapter Two
    
  • Chapter Three
    
  • Chapter Four
    
  • Chapter Five
    
  • Chapter Six
    
  • Chapter Seven
    
  • Chapter Eight
    
  • Chapter Nine
    
  • Chapter Ten
    
  • Chapter Eleven
    
  • Photographic Insert
    
  • Chapter Twelve
    
  • Chapter Thirteen
    
  • Chapter Fourteen
    
  • Chapter Fifteen
    
  • Chapter Sixteen
    
  • Chapter Seventeen
    
  • Chapter Eighteen
    
  • Chapter Nineteen
    
  • Chapter Twelve
    
  • Author's Note
    
  • Acknowledgments
    
  • About the Author
    
  • Praise
    
  • Books by Kathryn Casey
    
  • Copyright Notice
    
  • About the Publisher