Body Parts

Praise for Caitlin Rother

BODY PARTS

“A must read . . . well-written, extremely intense; a book that I could not put down.”

—Kim Cantrell,
True Crime Book Reviews

“Excellent, well researched, well written.”

—
Don Bauder,
San Diego Reader

“Page-turning excitement and blood-curdling terror . . . riveting, fast-paced, and sure to keep you up at night.”

—M. William Phelps

“Rother paints every page with all the violent colors of a malignant sociopath’s fever. This kind of frightening and fascinating glimpse into a killer’s mind is rare.”

—Ron Franscell

“A superior study of the formation of a serial killer and his lost and lonely victims.”

—
Carol Anne Davis

“Shocking, chilling, fast-paced . . . a book crime aficionados will be loath to put down.”

—
Simon Read

LOST GIRLS

“A close look at a killer . . . deeply reported, dispassionately written . . . done superbly by a writer who knows how to burrow into a complex case.”

—Los Angeles Times

“Disturbing . . . This book will be popular with fans of Ann Rule and other popular true crime writers.”

—Library Journal

“Thoroughly reported, well-written, terrifying ... I doubt that there will be a better book on this tragedy.”

—San Diego Reader

“Well-written, thought-provoking . . . if ever a ‘true crime’ deserved a book-length study, this is certainly that crime.”

—San Diego Union Tribune

“A nuanced look at Gardner, from rapist-killer to charmer with girlfriends aplenty.”

—North County Times

“A gripping account of the chilling disappearances of two San Diego area schoolgirls, a compelling picture of the victims’ families’ heartbreak, a nuanced inside look at the two police investigations. A must-read.”

—Sue Russell

“Rother is at her best when she boldly dissects how a boy with psychological problems formed into a man indifferent to his monstrous acts toward two young girls.”

—Katherine Ramsland

“A frank and riveting look at the life and mind of San Diego rapist and killer John Gardner.”

—Diane Fanning

DEAD RECKONING

“Well researched and a quick, engrossing read, this should be popular with true crime readers, especially the Ann Rule crowd.”

—Library Journal,
Starred Review

“This gave me chills, and that’s not easy to do.”

—Steve Jackson

“Gripping . . . Rother gives readers compelling insight to an unthinkable American nightmare. The book is frank and frightening, and it sizzles.”

—Aphrodite Jones

“Impressively reported in a forthright narrative . . . a pitch-perfect study of avarice, compulsion and pure California illusion.”

—
Ron Franscell

“We’ve finally found the next Ann Rule! Caitlin Rother writes with heart and suspense.
Dead Reckoning
is a chilling read by a writer at the top of her game.”

—Gregg Olsen

“Gripping, brutal, riveting—Rother delivers a thrilling account of murder and mayhem.”

—M. William Phelps

“A true-crime triumph . . . Rother solidifies her star status.”

—The San Diego Union-Tribune

“This gruesome story is fast-paced and will grip any lover of the true crime genre.”

—North County Times

POISONED LOVE

“A true-crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”

—Aphrodite Jones

“Absorbing and impeccably researched . . . a classic California noir story of passion and betrayal and death, with a beautiful, scheming adulteress at the center of the web.”

—
John Taylor

“With integrity, class and skill, Rother weaves this complex story seamlessly in the page-turning fashion of a suspenseful novel.”

—M. William Phelps

“A lively and immaculately researched book.”

—Carol Ann Davis

“A devastating portrait . . . an unwavering look at how one young woman fantasized herself into murder.”

—The San Diego Union-Tribune

“A page-turner.”

—San Diego Metropolitan

“A gripping account.”

—San Diego Magazine

ALSO BY CAITLIN ROTHER

Naked Addiction

*Poisoned Love

My Life, Deleted

(By Scott and Joan Bolzan and Caitlin Rother)

*Dead Reckoning

Where Hope Begins/Deadly Devotion

(By Alysia Sofios with Caitlin Rother)

*Lost Girls

Twisted Triangle

(By Caitlin Rother with John Hess)

*Available from Kensington Publishing Corp.
and Pinnacle Books

BODY PARTS

CAITLIN ROTHER

PINNACLE BOOKS

Kensington Publishing Corp.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Table of Contents

Praise for Caitlin Rother
ALSO BY CAITLIN ROTHER
Title Page
P
ROLOGUE
PART I

CHAPTER 1
-
K
AREN AND
G
ENE
CHAPTER 2
-
F
EAR OF
P
UNISHMENT
CHAPTER 3
-
D
IVIDED
A
TTENTIONS
CHAPTER 4
-
K
ELLY AND THE
H
EAD
I
NJURY
CHAPTER 5
-
“D
ANGER TO
H
IMSELF
, O
THERS AND
G
OVERNMENT
P
ROPERTY
”
CHAPTER 6
-
A
DAM AND
W
ADAD
CHAPTER 7
-
E
LIZABETH AND
M
AX

PART II

CHAPTER 8
-
“T
ORSO
G
IRL
”
CHAPTER 9
-
T
HE
M
ONEY
C
OW
CHAPTER 10
-
T
INA
R
ENEE
G
IBBS
CHAPTER 11
-
T
HE
O
NES
T
HAT
G
OT
A
WAY
CHAPTER 12
-
L
ANETT
D
EYON
W
HITE
CHAPTER 13
-
P
ATRICIA
A
NNE
T
AMEZ

PART III

CHAPTER 14
-
“Y
OU
W
ON’T
L
OVE
M
E
A
NYMORE
”
CHAPTER 15
-
S
URRENDER
CHAPTER 16
-
“I H
AD
T
O
M
AKE
H
ER
S
MALL
”
CHAPTER 17
-
“P
UNISH
M
E
”
CHAPTER 18
-
“B
ABIES
”
CHAPTER 19
-
“H
E
A
LWAYS
K
EPT
H
IS
T
RUCK
C
LEAN
”

PART IV

CHAPTER 20
-
N
EW
C
HARGES
, N
EW
A
TTORNEYS
CHAPTER 21
-
P
REPARING
FOR
T
RIAL
CHAPTER 22
-
P
ROSECUTION
: S
ADISTIC
, S
EXUAL
P
REDATOR
CHAPTER 23
-
D
EFENSE
: C
ONFUSED
AND
M
ENTALLY
I
LL
CHAPTER 24
-
R
EBUTTAL
: M
ALINGERING
?
CHAPTER 25
-
H
AUNTING
W
HISPERS
CHAPTER 26
-
L
IFE
OR
D
EATH
CHAPTER 27
-
N
O
M
ERCY
CHAPTER 28
-
W
AYNE
: A
CCIDENTS
AND
M
ISCONCEPTIONS

E
PILOGUE
AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
LOST GIRLS
Copyright Page

P
ROLOGUE

Rodney Ford had just gotten home after quitting his job on Monday, November 2, 1998, when his brother, Wayne, called.

“I’m in some real bad trouble and I think the police are looking for me. I need your help,” thirty-six-year-old Wayne said, crying. “I need you to come get me.”

Rodney was nearly two years older than Wayne and had always been stronger emotionally than his little brother. They’d been close since childhood, when they weathered their parents’ divorce and had only each other for company in faraway places, like Okinawa, Japan.

When they were boys, their personalities were as stark contrasts as their hair color. Rodney, who had brown hair, had always been easygoing and outgoing; Wayne, a blond, kept mostly to himself and seemed to have a harder time dealing with life.
Much harder.

It was already 7:00
P.M.
when Wayne called, and Rodney was tired after a long, frustrating, and final day as a general superintendent for a big construction company, especially after commuting two and a half hours each way to South San Francisco.