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Так получилось, что книга ко мне попала в тяжелый эмоциональный кризис и многое мне дала. Написано актуально, тут многих полезных вещей, никакого злоу...
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Ultimate Cedar Cove Collection
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Год написания книги
2019
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Ever since, Peggy had felt as if they were caught in some kind of whirlwind, tossed about by forces beyond their control. Bad enough that the man had died in their home, but then they’d learned that he’d carried false identification. Nothing was as it seemed. By the end of that day, after hours with the sheriff and the coroner, there’d been more questions than answers.
She saw Bob pull the riding lawn mower out of the garage. At the sound of the engine, Peggy paused in watering her seedlings, one hand shading her eyes. Even after all these years of marriage, she never grew tired of their life together. They’d survived the bad times with their love intact. And their attraction, too. Bob was tall and had kept his shape, his sandy brown hair neatly trimmed. His arms were already tanned from exposure to the sun. He loved his workshop and she was genuinely impressed by what he could do with a few pieces of oak or pine. She’d fallen in love with Bob Beldon as a teenager and she loved him still.
Now, however, she was worried. She didn’t want to think about the dead man, but it was unavoidable, especially after what they’d recently found out. Sheriff Davis had identified their mystery guest as Maxwell Russell. To say Bob was shocked would be putting it mildly. He’d been with Max in Vietnam. Dan Sherman, who was also dead, Bob, Max and another man named Stewart Samuels had belonged to that squadron. They’d gotten lost in a Southeast Asian jungle with tragic results.
Once the identity of the dead man was established, another shocking revelation had come to light. The sheriff, with the help of local private investigator Roy McAfee, had discovered that Max Russell’s death was no accident.
He’d been poisoned.
The water bottle he’d carried with him had been laced with odorless, tasteless Rohypnol, commonly known as the “date rape” drug. The dose had been large enough to stop his heart. Maxwell Russell had gone to bed, tired from a long day of travel, and he never woke up.
Bob rode past her on the lawn mower with a quick wave, and Peggy continued to water her garden, but a pang went through her. At this very moment Bob could be in danger, but he seemed content to ignore any risk rather than admit her concerns were legitimate.
As she set aside the hose, Peggy caught sight of Sheriff Davis’s patrol car coming down Cranberry Point. She immediately felt the tension between her shoulder blades. She hoped he planned to talk some sense into Bob.
Her husband must have seen the patrol car at the same time Peggy did because he cut the engine and climbed off the lawn mower. Sheriff Troy Davis turned into the driveway, then stepped out of his vehicle. In the beginning, when it looked like Bob might be a suspect in the murder case, Davis wasn’t nearly as welcome here as he was now.
The sheriff, who was probably a little heavier than he should be, took a moment to hike up his pants and adjust his gun before heading across the lawn to meet Bob. Unwilling to be left out of the conversation, Peggy shut off the water and hurried across the half-mown grass.
“Peggy.” Davis touched the brim of his hat and nodded in her direction. “I was just telling Bob it might be a good idea if the three of us sat down and talked.”
Peggy nodded in return, appreciating the fact that he wanted to include her.
Bob led the way to the patio, and Peggy was grateful she’d taken time that morning to sweep it off. The three of them sat at the round pine table Bob had built several years earlier. He’d painted it a deep gray-blue, a color that complemented the white siding. The striped umbrella was up and the patio was awash in sunshine.
“I thought I’d update you on my conversation with Hannah Russell.”
A couple of months earlier, after Max’s identity had been uncovered, his daughter had asked to meet with Bob and Peggy. It had been an uncomfortable meeting, but Peggy’s heart had ached for the young woman. She’d answered Hannah’s questions to the best of her ability.
For her part, there was little Hannah could tell them. All she knew was what her father had told her-he was taking a short trip, although he hadn’t divulged where. That was the last she’d heard. When he didn’t return to California, she’d filed a missing persons report with the police. A year had passed before she learned his fate.
“I feel so bad for her,” Peggy said. Hannah had lost her mother some time before and was now an orphan with no other family.
“She was pretty upset,” Troy admitted. “You can imagine how painful it was to learn her father was dead. But to discover he’d been murdered…” He shook his head.
“Did she have any idea who might’ve done this?”
“None,” Davis told them. “She asked me to thank you for your kindness. Talking with you helped her resolve in her own mind what happened to her father. Peggy, she mentioned the letter you wrote, and I could tell it meant a great deal to her.”
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Так получилось, что книга ко мне попала в тяжелый эмоциональный кризис и многое мне дала. Написано актуально, тут многих полезных вещей, никакого злоу...
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