She returned to the cottage after her brief walking tour of the village. As she stood in front of the cottage and once again looked down at the picturesque village, she took a deep breath and began her new life.
EPILOGUE
“This is Sean Moriarty, may I help you?"
"Hi, Mr. Moriarty. This is Detective Lawrence. You may remember that I called you a few months ago about a murder at the Blue Coyote Motel. I wanted to bring you up to date.
"The final autopsy results on Jeffrey Brooks came back. It looks like he concocted some drug that was similar to one he'd been taking for a manic-depressive mental condition. We located his psychiatrist, who told us Jeffrey hadn't kept his annual check-up appointment. Our lab tests discovered a drug in his system that doesn't match any drug presently on the market. We had it analyzed and it looks like Jeffrey miscalculated one of the ingredients he put in the drug. He was badly overdosing himself. The drug, in the huge amounts he took, would have caused anyone to slide into a state of mental insanity. We believe that's what happened to him. Apparently, he was a brilliant scientist, but it's ironic he was responsible for creating the drug that caused him to become mentally insane.
"We've never found Maria and we're getting ready to put the file in what we call cold cases. We think that Jeffrey probably went completely mad and she killed him in self-defense during some sort of confrontation, and then fled the country because she was afraid of being prosecuted. We found a knife at the scene of the murder which might have been part of the confrontation. Jeffrey’s prints were all over it. It's sad because an attorney probably could have made a good case for self-defense for Maria. Guess we'll never know exactly what happened. She's completely vanished and her trail goes cold in Marseille. Have you thought of anything else?"
Sean was relieved to hear that Maria was free and not surprised that Jeffrey was responsible in some way for his own death. He mused that it was karma at its best.
"Wish I could help you, Detective, but I've told you everything I know. I'm just sorry for both of them. What a tragedy," Sean said.
"Well,” Detective Lawrence said,” I'm sure you'll never hear anything from Maria, but if you do, you know where to call, and again, thanks for your help."
Sean made a mental note to tell his Wednesday night session what the detective had told him. The last bad chapter of a bad book was thankfully at an end. Before he even thought about it, he realized he was saying a silent prayer.
“Our Father…”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To thank all those who encouraged me to write this book and to all who read to this page. I am indebted to those who vetted the book, Susan, Jacquie, Mike, Noelle, and Tom, and to those who encouraged me to take my time with it. To my editor, Amy, and my graphic artist, Regina; to Barry, for giving me guidance on how to get from A to Z; to my family for their support and to my dog, Rebel, who was extremely gracious when I would feed him late because I’d been wrapped up in the book. But most of all, I thank Tom, my husband. Once he read it, he insisted that the book see the light of day and encouraged me every step of the way, spending hours editing, fine-tuning and pointing out things I’d missed.
To each and every one of you for reading it, thanks!
ABOUT DIANNE
Dianne divides her time between her homes in Huntington Beach and Sacramento, California, where her husband is a State Senator. She is currently at work on Tea Party Teddy, a tell-all novel about California politics due to be released in 2013, as well as a sequel to Blue Coyote Motel. She can be reached at www.dianneharman.com
Table of Contents
Title page
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
EPILOGUE