Prologue
Julia Tutwiler PrisonFor Women
Wetumpka, Alabama
Eight months ago…
“Prison is boring.I haven’t been given the opportunity to kill anyone in ages.”Magnolia Calhoun let out a long and despondent sigh as she sat at the small table, her hands folded in front of her, not a single line appearing on her face.
Lily shifted in her seat.The uneven legs of the chair made it rock forward, then back.“That’s not a funny joke, Mother.”She cast a quick glance toward the guard who stood to the right, watching every movement.Hearing every single word.And, no doubt, intending to report every single word back to the warden.
“Who’s joking?”Magnolia responded.
Lily lifted one eyebrow.
Her mother’s gaze darted to the guard.“Oh, right.I’mjoking.Me.”One hand lifted as she waved toward the guard.“Hi, handsome.”
Her mother always took every opportunity to flirt with a handsome man.So what if he was thirty years her junior?Magnolia didn’t care about numbers.
She also didn’t care very much about life or death.
No one’s life mattered to her.
And she truly had gone a long time without killing anyone.Considering that Magnolia was in jail for murdering twelve men, she had to be struggling.Killing to Magnolia was like getting a rush from the very best drug in the world.The hit gave off a high that was euphoric.
She killed at least twelve men.But I know there were more.The cops and the Feds and the DA just couldn’t prove it.
“You look pale, Lily,” Magnolia suddenly scolded.Sounding like a typical mother.Though there would never, ever be anything typical about her.“Are you getting enough Vitamin D?Spending enough time outdoors?Eating enough protein?Drinking enough water?”She smiled.“I hear all of that is very important.Ineed more of those vital things.”A deliberate glance toward the guard.“Make sure the warden understands that, will you, Jesse?Tell him I need more outside time.I’m sure Lawrence will accommodate me.We have such a warm relationship.”
Lily sincerely hoped that her mother was not fucking the warden.
Magnolia winked at her.
Crap, she probably is fucking him.
“I received another marriage proposal.”Magnolia’s hands folded in front of her again.Magnolia had never been one for nervous movements.She was completely contained.Every small twitch carefully orchestrated.“You know, it’s not just women who fall for the bad guys.Not just women who think that something broken can be fixed.Such a cliché to think it’s only us.”
Now this was interesting.Her mother had never, ever referred to herself asbrokenbefore.“Since when do you need to be fixed?”
Her mother’s warm, slow smile stretched over her face, lighting her dark eyes.Making her look warm and approachable.Beautiful.Charming.
Magnolia had been charming men since she was sixteen years old.
She’d also been killing them for that long.
“Since never, of course,” Magnolia demurred.“But it is so fun when people try.”Musical laughter.Everything about Magnolia was entrancing.Always had been.Her laughter drew people to her.Her smiles made them want to smile back.
She was a human Venus Flytrap, ready to draw you in.Then slowly kill you.
And she wants me to be just like her.
“I actually receive a marriage proposal every few days.One individual is particularly persistent.A doctor from Louisiana.”A slow nod.“Perhaps I will take him up on his offer.I have been so very bored in here… My letters from the outside world are my main form of entertainment.I get so many letters.Did I mention them?”
She was sure her mother received dozens of letters each week.“Does the doctor from Louisiana understand that all of your past lovers wound up murdered, by you?”
“Of course.”A wink.“That’s part of his attraction to me.Some people love getting close to danger.It excites them.The thrill of evil can be intoxicating.”
Goosebumps rose on Lily’s skin.“I thought you weren’t evil.I thought you said those men all deserved what happened to them.”That had been Magnolia’s claim at sentencing time.When she’d tried to get life instead of a lethal injection.
