Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
“What other bad news?”
“In scrutinizing the list, Sidney and his team noted that all the cases, the banker in Boston, the single mom in Minneapolis, and the butcher in Germany haven’t gone to trial yet.”
“You know what—” Ben stopped to reconsider his next words. “Okay. I don’t get it. I’ve done research in the US on cases before they’d gone to trial. This is a free country, Roz.”
“True, but Sidney cited a ruling, the Kimber case in Idaho or Iowa.”
“The Kimber case? What’s that? Never heard of it.”
“Sidney said it’s very recent, hasn’t got much attention but it’s significant. Anyway, a murder case fell apart because an author writing a book had been privy to information salient to the defense or the prosecution prior to and during the trial.”
Ben began searching online for the Kimber case and found a short wire story out of Boise. It didn’t have much detail, other than declaration of a mistrial because of information shared with a local writer planning a book.
“So—” Roz exhaled “—given these concerns, Sidney and his team strongly advise you not to touch any cases that have not cleared the trial and conviction stage.”
Ben rubbed his chin. This wasn’t good.
“I’m sorry, Ben,” Roz said. “I wish I had better news. I know time is ticking down on the publisher’s ultimatum for a new book but this legal curveball leaves us with nothing for the moment.”
Ben slumped back in his chair, disappointment rising, pressure to decide on a story mounting, as he shuffled through his papers for the page with the story list. Finding it, he turned to insert it into his shredder, his eyes glancing over it and the handwritten notes he’d made.
Ben stopped.
“Hang on, Roz. We still have one overlooked case that will work.”
“Which one is that?”
“The older one, the Canadian case. The one in Eternity, Manitoba.”
Twenty-Seven
Eternity, Manitoba
2000
Something wasn’t right.
Unable to sleep, Nancy Gorman woke before dawn, slipped into her robe and went to the kitchen to make coffee. Waiting for the kettle to boil, she looked out the window and in the twilight saw two Eternity police cars creep to a silent stop in the rear service lane.
It’s Sunday morning. Something’s going on, she thought.
Nancy and her daughter lived with Telforde Rahynes in White Spruce Estates, an apartment complex on the south side of the railway yards. It consisted of three buildings, each housing six units. Most were occupied by low-income, transient tenants. Everyone in town knew the complex as “The Estates.”