Dear Maggie

Dear Maggie
Brenda Novak

What Maggie does… Maggie Russell, a police reporter in Sacramento, works the night shift. She's divorced and the mother of a very active three-year-old son. Maggie may not have much time for a social life, but she's recently begun an e-mail correspondence with a man named John.What Maggie knows… She's finally stumbled on the big crime story that will truly establish her career–if it doesn't end her life. A serial killer who moves from one city to the next. A murderer who chooses a female reporter and writes her letters…before he kills her. As if things aren't complicated enough, Nick Sorenson, the paper's new photographer, seems to be taking an unusual interest in this case. And in her.What Maggie doesn't know…Nick's an undercover FBI agent tracking the killer and keeping an eye on Maggie–at work and through his e-mail persona, "John." Maggie doesn't realize that she's falling in love with a man who's not what he seems to be. A man whose deceptions may save her life.

“What would you say if I asked you out again?”

“Yes” hovered on the tip of Maggie’s tongue. It was what she wanted to say. But then she remembered the f.p. factor. Father potential. No matter what Nick Sorenson said, he wasn’t the marrying type. She could feel it. “No,” she said. “I’m sort of involved with someone else.”

“With whom?” he asked.

Maggie knew she was stretching here. But she needed some excuse. She couldn’t let herself fall for a guaranteed heartbreaker. “His name is John.”

“John?” He blinked at her as if she’d suddenly grown two heads. “John who?”

“You don’t know him,” she said. “I met him on the Internet.”

Great! Now he was competing against himself.

Nick sat at his desk, going over some paperwork, although in reality he was doing nothing more than wondering how he’d managed to strike out with Maggie again. The night had been going so well. He’d easily recognized the signals she was sending—they told him he wasn’t alone in his attraction. Yet when he’d gone for the close, she’d shot him down. Because of “John.”

And he couldn’t even ask what “John” had that he didn’t!

Dear Reader,

Set in Sacramento, California, where I live, this book was especially fun to write. I drive the streets Maggie and Nick drive, I frequent the same places, I use the bike trail. Against the backdrop of such familiar territory, I guess it was inevitable that this story would seem more real to me than any other. But as you read Dear Maggie, you’ll understand why there were times when “real” wasn’t such a good thing! I often spooked myself into looking over my shoulder as I jogged along the American River or double-checking my windows and doors at night.

Though there is definitely an element of suspense running through this novel, it’s still about relationships and trust and finding the one person in life who completes us. Nick, an undercover FBI agent, and Maggie, a newspaper reporter, are perfect for each other, but there are plenty of obstacles standing in their way—Maggie’s background and childhood experiences, Nick’s job and his fear of commitment…and a serial killer.

I’d love to hear from you. You can write me at P.O. Box 3781, Citrus Heights, CA 95611. Or simply log on to my Web site at www.brendanovak.com to send me an e-mail, enter my monthly draws, join my mailing list, check out my book signings or learn about upcoming releases.

Happy (and safe <G>) reading!

Brenda Novak

P.S. I hope Dear Maggie helps you “get caught reading” something you can’t put down!

Dear Maggie

Brenda Novak

To Pam,

For being more than a sister.

For being a lifelong friend.

And to Joy,

For exactly the same reason.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’d like to thank Dixie Reid and Ted Bell, staff writers at the Sacramento Bee, for giving me a tour of the newsroom and helping to answer my questions about a cop reporter’s world.

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

EPILOGUE