A Song in the Daylight

Part III. “Everything Must Go” (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One (#litres_trial_promo)

1. And Now for Something Completely Different (#litres_trial_promo)

2. All Things Under Heaven (#litres_trial_promo)

3. Lillypond (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Two (#litres_trial_promo)

1. Parenting Plus (#litres_trial_promo)

2. Private Investigations (#litres_trial_promo)

3. The Runaway Child (#litres_trial_promo)

Part IV. Miss Silver City (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One (#litres_trial_promo)

1. The Walker (#litres_trial_promo)

2. A Motherless Child (#litres_trial_promo)

3. The Play (#litres_trial_promo)

4. Happiness (#litres_trial_promo)

5. Jared Stark (#litres_trial_promo)

6. Land of the Dry Lakes (#litres_trial_promo)

7. Pooncarie (#litres_trial_promo)

8. Demon Ride (#litres_trial_promo)

9. The Seven Ages of Larissa (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue

Friday Night (Almost) Like Any Other

“Yes, it’s mainly desert lands, nothing but dry creeks,” Doug was saying, relaying to Jared his torrid experience in the Australian bush, “but when it rains five hundred miles away, you get an astonishing twenty feet of water pouring through the arid lake beds and salty playas. Doesn’t happen very often, though, the deluge. And even when it does, it quickly evaporates. The stasis is earth, waterless and scorched.”

“Hmm,” Jared muttered, impatient fingers tapping on the desk. He wanted to get back to their conversation about the Yankees’ middle relief pitching. But Doug had recently come back from a trip to the Australian outback and for weeks straight had insisted on telling Jared all about it.

Jared had had a busy afternoon of capitalization meetings before the long Memorial Day weekend, and at 3:30, his assistant, Sheila, said that Emily had called and needed him to call back right away. He was going to do that but he got swamped with a Tokyo call, an emergency round-up about a possible bankruptcy filing for one of their affiliates, a Hong Kong call, and finally the usual Friday-night banter from Doug, when at 4:45 the phone rang again.

“Dad!”

“Oh, sorry, Em. I’m snowed under. What’s up?” He motioned Doug not to leave; he had one more thing to add to their revolving argument on the dire pitching prospects for the Yankees’ sinking (stinking) season.

“What’s up,” Emily said with all stridency, “is I have a volleyball game today at five and Mom is not home to drive me!”

“Volleyball game when?” Jared’s hand with the index finger out was still raised.

“In fifteen minutes,” said Emily, apparently through her teeth. “And did I mention Mom’s not home to drive me?”

“Where is she?” Jared was waving to Doug, to say, wait.

“Dad? Are you even listening? I don’t know where she is. I’ve been calling you since 3:30!”

“I’m sure Mommy will be right back, Em. Isn’t Michelangelo with her?”

“I thought he was, but Tara just brought him home.”

“Who’s Tara?”

Emily drew a long breath. “Our neighbor two doors down. Our neighbor for seven years.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Apparently he had a playdate with Jen and Jess. So here we all are, except for Mom—who’s not here. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I have a MEET in fifteen minutes!”

Jared’s finger was still up for Doug, just one minute. “Call her cell.”

“Dad, what do you think, I didn’t call her five thousand times before I called you? And then Asher helpfully found her cell phone ringing on her makeup table in the bedroom.”

“She didn’t take her cell phone?” Jared put his finger down, and stared at his desk, instead of at the casually sitting Doug Grant.

“Correct-o.”

“Well, how far could she have gone?” Jared said. “You know Mommy never carries any cash on her.”

“Dad!”

“All right.” He shook his head. “I’m leaving right now. I’ll be home in thirty minutes.”