Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
EPHESIANS 4:31-32
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
ROMANS 14:10-12
What we are, and where we are is God’s providential arrangement—God’s doing, though it may be man’s misdoing; and the manly and the wise way is to look your disadvantages in the face and see what can be made out of them. --WILL SCHWALBE
I don’t want to do him any favors. I don’t want a killer in my home. Everyone should understand that, most of all God.
This book is about Truth and Lies... It's about good and evil... It's about love and hate... It's about...living!
Once again, it was interesting timing that this book was selected from my TBR long list. There was nothing I knew about the book, other than it was... available to acquire... either free or a low price. I don't even remember which... I do know that I have one fault--or blessing--depending on how you look at it. When I see a free book, I automatically get it! I can't seem to stop myself, especially as I recognize that I have NO idea of anything about the book...
Well, folks, this was a winner! Even though you may not understand until the very end... I like that kind of book--do you? That keeps the mystery, the suspense alive, page by page, wondering... Or trying to pick out clues. Well, for me, it was right before the Prologue... There were three references that were provided which are intended to share the thoughts, the reasons, that, perhaps, the author wrote the story. I was hooked immediately, even before I read one word of the book... One flaw in ebooks for me is that the software has been programmed to take the new reader directly to the first page of the book. Me, I prefer to start right at the cover, so I can ponder how that front cover is meant to convey something about the book, preferably an enticing cover that welcomes the potential reader into the world they might enter.
The Prologue was interesting, only for the fact that it introduced some main characters, and which could be misleading as well. Because the first page of the book takes place about 30 years later... where we meet the main character, who from the first day of her birth, she was told lies. Still she was able to reason herself out of those lies, like many of us now are doing, and had learned about God along the way and began her life in giving herself to the community in which she had been scorned by many... A simply fascinating character that you just might like to meet... I would!
Sleep was a phantom for Hanna for most of the night. She dozed here and there between tossing and turning. For the first time that she could remember, she was relieved when the alarm went off. Rubbing her eyes, she threw off the sheet and sat up. Stretching mightily, “Ow, ow, ow” squeaked out when the side she’d bruised yesterday protested painfully. After the stiffness and discomfort eased, in a few minutes, she felt ready to get up and face the day. On Saturday mornings, she’d meet with her best friend, Amanda, for a brisk walk. Mandy lived a block over and would walk to pick up Hanna. She strode into the bathroom, yawning, then rinsed off her face and pulled on her workout gear. The doorbell rang; Mandy was always on time. Hanna grabbed her phone, shoes, and socks and trotted to the front door. “Sorry I’m a tad late,” Hanna said as she pulled the door open. “I didn’t sleep very well.” Mandy stretched. “That’s okay, I’m moving slow this morning myself.” Hanna closed the door and sat on the porch bench to put on her shoes. “Why are you moving slow today? Missing Brody?” Mandy’s husband was a cycling coach, currently riding in Europe with his team. “Yeah, that. But we had a good Zoom call yesterday. What kept me awake is I’m worried about Edda. Losing sleep over it.” Hanna looked up from her laces. “Edda? Why? She’s the most stable, reliable person I know.” “Maybe. But she met some guy online, and I think she’s being bamboozled.” “Online?” Hanna almost laughed, the thought of Edda being caught up in Tinder or Match.com being so absurd. Mandy’s face made the laugh die in her throat. “That doesn’t sound like Edda.” Hanna tied her laces, grabbed her phone, and stood. Mandy leaned against one of the porch pillars, tension stiffening her shoulders. “It doesn’t. Apparently, it’s been going on awhile. I thought she was a little distracted lately. I wished I had pressed her on it awhile ago. But . . .” “You didn’t want to meddle?” “I’m more than her boss. I’m her friend. I should have meddled.” “So, how’d you find out?” “I caught her on the laptop in a chat room. It was like pulling teeth to get her to tell me what was going on. She said the person contacted her on the memorial website she set up for Bobby.” “What were they chatting about?” “At first she thought the guy was struggling with addiction, like Bobby. Now she’s not sure. All she would say was that she thought someone was pretending, and she wanted to find out who it was.” “Pretending?” Hanna slapped her forehead. “Edda sent me an e-mail, said she wanted to talk.” “About what?” “Legal help, I think. I never responded. Right after I read the e-mail, I was interrupted. I forgot all about it.” “Well, talk to her. Her son’s death really hurt. She’s not over it, and if someone got ahold of her online and is trying to take advantage, they need to be stopped. What if she thinks she found Bobby’s dealer?” “Why would you say that?” “No specific reason. I’m just worried. I should have paid more attention.” Hanna took a step and stood next to Mandy. “Agreed. I should have answered her e-mail.” She couldn’t remember the exact wording of the e-mail now. Could Edda have been trying to find the man responsible for Bobby’s death, or was it something more dangerous? “Yeah, I’m hoping you’ll talk to her and maybe look into this guy she’s been conversing with.” “Consider it done. I’ll drop by for a visit after church tomorrow. Ready?” Mandy nodded and together they hopped off the porch. She changed the subject. “I know you had quite a day yesterday. Braden is a handful for any babysitter.” News always traveled fast in Dry Oaks. It was no surprise that Mandy knew about the incident. “Yeah, the boy has endless energy. I hope that accidently falling from a cliff is the extent of his mischievousness.” Falling into step with Amanda, they headed for the local high school to walk the track. Saturday was a light day for both of them. Amanda was an avid cyclist. Hanna’s exercise of choice was running, and a normal run for her was around six miles. To mix it up, on Tuesdays and Thursdays she swam in the local pool. While vigorous exercise always helped clear her head, Saturday was a welcome break. The pleasant easy walk and chat with Mandy helped center Hanna, especially when the workweek had been tough. She was certain she did the same for Mandy. Her friend ran a local crisis pregnancy center, and often Hanna could feel the hurt and sadness radiating from Mandy. Too many young women saw abortion as the only option, and it weighed on Mandy and, to a certain extent, Hanna as well. Saving and protecting the innocent was a central reason she went into law enforcement. This morning, the most pressing thing on Hanna’s mind was Joe. Mandy was more than Hanna’s friend. She and her grandparents were family to Hanna. Joe murdered Mandy’s parents. How could his probable release not affect her? Hanna wasn’t certain how to broach the subject. “Braden only suffered a broken arm?” Mandy asked. “Yeah, besides that, just bumps and bruises. He got lucky.” “Did he say how he ended up on the ledge?” “Chasing the dog, who was chasing a squirrel. Cassidy couldn’t keep up.” “Hmph.” For a few minutes, they walked in companionable silence. Hanna had the sense that something was on Mandy’s mind. Was it still Edda? “Sounds like there is more to follow,” Hanna said. “Yeah, but it doesn’t make sense. It’s certainly not a Christian thought. It’s the Buckleys. Well, it seems sometimes as if they are cursed.” “Cursed?” Mandy waved her hand. “I know, I know, we don’t believe in curses. But so much tragedy for that family. First Chase, then Chase’s son, then Braden’s mother, then Scott . . .” “As a law enforcement officer, I could say there is nothing cursed about it. Just a lot of bad life decisions and unfortunate situations. Chase hung with the wrong crowd, his son was an unfortunate victim of a motorcycle accident, and Braden’s mother never had both feet on the ground—” “Okay, okay, I hate it when you get all official and pragmatic on me. Whatever the reason, it’s sad. And I hope this tumble is the worst thing that happens to Braden for a good long time.” They started their first lap around the track. Hanna could never do this boring type of workout without Mandy. “Speaking of bad things and curses,” Hanna began, “I got a strange visit yesterday.” “Visit? From whom?” “The Department of Corrections.” “What?” Mandy stopped, and so did Hanna, a couple of feet ahead of her. She turned back. “Did he die?” Mouth half open, Hanna looked at her friend. Was there hope in that question or sorrow? She shook her head. “Not yet. But he is dying. Cancer. They want to grant him compassionate parole.” Mandy frowned. “Huh? What is that, how would it work?” Hanna shrugged and started walking again, and Mandy hurried to catch up. “They want to send him to me. On hospice.” “You’re kidding.” “I wish I was. My answer is no. I’m too busy. Running a PD means I’m at work most of the time, for heaven’s sake. I don’t even have time for a dog. Besides, he’s really nothing to me.” Mandy grabbed her arm and they stopped again. “Don’t tell them no, Hanna. Don’t.” “What? Why not?” “Because. He’s at the end. Maybe he’ll finally do the right thing and tell me where my parents are.” Hanna saw desperate hope in her friend’s eyes. Surprise hit like a blow. “Wow.” “What?” “I never looked at it that way, from your perspective. I—” The sound of a car pulling into the school parking lot stopped her. It was a county car. Nathan. That he was here, now, meant not-good news. Mandy jerked around and followed her gaze. “I sincerely hope he just misses you.” Nathan got out and walked toward them. He looked tired. His clothes were rumpled, and the shadow of a beard darkened his jawline. Hanna bet he’d not been to sleep yet. “Good morning. I thought I’d find you two here,” he said as he approached. “What gives? You look like you’re the bearer of bad news.” Hanna tried to keep her tone light even as her stomach turned. He nodded, expression grim. “Afraid I am.” He looked away from Hanna, and his voice softened. “Mandy, we found a body last night. Another woman.” Nathan took a deep breath. “There is no easy way to say this. It was Edda.” “Huh?” Hanna felt as if all breath left her body. Auntie Edda? The pain she felt was real and ragged, but she held on to her emotions and watched the color drain from Mandy’s face. Reflexively, she reached out and gripped her friend’s elbow. “You’re sure?” Mandy asked, voice soft, unsteady. “As sure as I can be. I talked to her enough. I know her son is gone. Is there any other family I need to notify? News agencies were all over the scene. I don’t want any of her family to find out from a news broadcast.” Mandy shook her head. “Her husband passed a while ago. She spoke of a niece in another state, but how close they were, I’m not certain.” Her voice broke, and Hanna felt for her friend. Then Mandy seemed to brace herself and swallow the tears. “I know who did it.” She folded her arms, anger rapidly replacing grief. “I tried to warn her. It’s a guy she met online. Someone named Diego.”
~~~
Hanna was the town sheriff, duly elected, which was probably the strangest thing if you didn't get to know the town and who they might vote for. Because Hanna's father was in jail for murder... But Hanna was being born on the day that a fire destroyed a meth lab and people were killed, injured, and, ultimately, Joe had confessed to it all...
What was worse was that he had planned on one last batch to have sufficient funds--he wanted to get married and welcome his child into the world with a somewhat "clean" slate... That plan never had a chance...
To make matters worse for Hanna, she had fallen in love in high school with Jared, who had even asked her to get married... thing is, he wanted to take her out into the world--and all that jazz that young boys want to do. Hanna wanted to stay in her home town, a place that had accepted her, where she felt safe... welcomed in her church and in her community. Jared left...and broke her heart... It was obvious that she saw it as just another way she could be hurt by... men... She was just now getting to know another law officer and was at least willing to see how things might go... But it was obvious that his feelings were much stronger than Hanna's. Especially when Jared came back to town, when his father died....
By that time, the truth of the past started to unwind...
Women are disappearing, seemingly having met somebody on a dating site. There was a major fire in the area--her resources were called to that catastrophe. Hanna was being sued by a former employee who was shocked when she was actually voted in as sheriff... And his misogyny couldn't accept that she was able to fire him... And he became very vocal about it around town...
That was easy to do, because there was one man who decided he was meant to spread the news in his town, whether or not it was actually true wasn't relevant. After all, he had published a book... And apparently most people in town had read the book... It was the "real" story of what happened on the night when Hanna's father had murdered people and disfigured one of the sons of the most influential family in town. Rumors were out that he was beginning to write a book from the family whose two sons had been most affected by the murder night years ago...
And even more was to be faced by Hanna... Those who controlled the prison system, had developed a program to try to lower the numbers of people in the jails. One of the options was to allow those prisoners with good records but who were now near natural death, to go home... Home? They wanted Hanna to accept a man she had never met into her home? No Way! She thought she had forgiven him, in God's name...but...
And then she talked to her best friend who had stood with her all her life. And, for the first time learned that her father supposedly murdered her parents and got rid of their bodies. She asked Hanna to agree to accept Joe into her home, so she could talk to him and see if he would tell her, finally, where their bodies were located so they, too, could be finally with their families... Hanna gave in and soon Joe was in a hospital bed, with 24-7 hospice care, in her guest bedroom...
Fortunately, the work of the sheriff didn't ever stop, so she was able to leave him there and proceed with her life... NOT...
This is an action-packed book in some ways; in others it is a book to contemplate about the primary issues we have--the difference between Truth and Lies... And what harm can be brought about through the use of lies to get what greed requires... This one became a personal favorite, for many reasons... But the main reason is the writer's ability to tell a much-needed story and still allow readers to participate in the issues displayed... Kudos!
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