Cedar Cove
MIRA
January 2010
On Sale: January 1, 2010
Featuring: Corrie McAfee
400 pages ISBN: 0778328627 EAN: 9780778328629 Mass Market Paperback (reprint) Add to Wish List
Corrie McAfee was worried. And she knew that her husband,
Roy, was too.
Who wouldn't be? Starting in July, Roy—a private
investigator—had received a series of anonymous postcards,
and while the messages weren't overtly threatening, they
were certainly distressing.
The first communication, which had been mailed to the
office, spoke of regrets. During the intervening weeks,
there'd been several others. Corrie had read each
postcard so often she'd memorized them all. The first
one stated: EVERYONE HAS REGRETS. IS THERE ANYTHING
YOU'VE DONE YOU WISH YOU COULD DO OVER? THINK ABOUT IT.
There hadn't been a signature then, or on any of the
other cards. They'd arrived at infrequent intervals and
been mailed from different locations. The cryptic messages
kept playing in her mind. The passing of time hadn't
helped; she was as much in the dark now, in October, as when
she'd seen that first postcard.
There was a final gasping, gurgling sound as the coffee
drained into the glass pot. The noise distracted Corrie from
her worries for a moment—long enough to glance out the wide
office window that overlooked downtown Cedar Cove,
Washington. Serving as Roy's secretary and assistant had
its advantages, and in this instance, disadvantages.
Sometimes ignorance truly was bliss; the current situation
was definitely one of those cases. She'd sleep better if
she'd never learned about the mysterious postcards.
And yet...even if Roy had managed to keep them hidden from
her, she would still have known—because the last message had
been hand-delivered, at night, to their front door. Not to
the office like the others, but to their home. Late one
evening, someone had walked up the sidewalk and onto the
porch of their house. As it happened, Roy and Corrie were
entertaining dinner guests that night—and had opened the
door to discover that an unknown person had left a fruit
basket and an accompanying note. Chills raced up
Corrie's spine at the thought that this person knew
their home address.
"Is that coffee ready yet?" Roy called from inside
his office. Apparently she hadn't delivered it fast enough.
"Hold your horses—it's coming." Corrie
didn't mean to snap at her husband. Normally she
wasn't shorttempered. This uncharacteristic outburst
revealed how upset she was by everything that was happening
to them. Sighing, she filled a clean mug for Roy and carried
it, steam rising, into his office.
"Okay, that does it," she said, putting the coffee
on the corner of his desk. "We have to talk."
As if he didn't have a care in the world, Roy leaned
back in his chair and locked his fingers behind his head.
They'd been married for twenty-seven years, and Corrie
found him as attractive now as she had in college. Roy had
played football for the University of Washington and been a
"big man on campus," as they used to say. He was
tall and broad-shouldered, still muscular, his posture as
straight as ever. He stayed in good shape without apparent
effort, and Corrie envied, just a bit, the fact that
he'd never gained any weight. His dark hair had thinned
and was streaked with gray, which only added a look of
dignity to his appearance.
Of all the women he dated during college, he'd fallen in
love with her. Theirs hadn't been an easy
courtship, though. They'd broken up for more than a
year, and then reunited. Once they were back together, they
realized how much they loved each other; there'd been no
uncertainty about their feelings. They were married shortly
after graduation and their love had endured through trials
and tribulations, through good years and bad. They'd had
plenty of both.
"Talk about what?" Roy asked casually.
His nonchalance didn't fool Corrie. Her husband knew
exactly what was on her mind. "Does THE PAST HAS A WAY
OF CATCHING UP WITH THE PRESENT tell you anything?" she
murmured, sitting down in the chair normally reserved for
clients. She wanted Roy to understand that she wouldn't
be put off easily. She was afraid he knew more about these
postcards than he'd let on. It would be just like him to
try to protect her.
Roy frowned. "Those messages don't have anything to
do with you, so don't worry about it."
His answer infuriated her. "How can you say that?
Everything that happens to you affects me."
He seemed about to argue, but after all these years, he
recognized that she wasn't going to be satisfied with
glib reassurances. "I'm not sure what to tell you.
I've made enemies and, yes, I have regrets, but who
doesn't?"
Roy had reached the rank of detective for the Seattle Police
Department and been forced into early retirement because of
a back injury. In the beginning, Corrie had been excited to
have her husband at home. She'd hoped they'd be able
to travel and do some of the things they'd always
planned, but it hadn't worked out that way. Roy had the
time now, but their finances had been adversely affected
when he'd had to take early retirement. Their income was
less than it had been by at least twenty percent. In a
money-saving effort, they'd moved from Seattle and
across Puget Sound to the community of Cedar Cove. The cost
of property was much more reasonable in Kitsap County, which
also offered a slower pace of life. When the real estate
agent showed them the house at 50 Harbor Street, with its
wide front porch and sweeping view of the cove and
lighthouse, Corrie knew immediately that this house and this
town would become their home.
They'd moved from the big city, and it hadn't been
as much of an adjustment as Corrie had feared. Folks in town
were pleasant, and Roy and Corrie had made a few good
friends—notably the Beldons—but kept mostly to themselves.
They knew their neighbors' names and exchanged
greetings, but that was about it.
To Corrie's disappointment, Roy had grown restless with
retirement. His moods had reflected his boredom, and he was
frequently cantankerous. Everything changed when he decided
to rent office space and hang out his shingle as a private
investigator. It was a decision Corrie had encouraged. Soon
her husband was busy and looking forward to each day. He
took on the cases that suited him and turned down those that
didn't. Corrie was proud of Roy's skills, proud of
his success and the way he cared about his clients. Never
did it occur to her, or apparently to Roy, that one day
he'd be solving his own mystery.
"You could be in danger," Corrie murmured, letting
her anxiety show. She refused to hide her feelings, refused
to pretend all was well when it wasn't.
Roy shrugged. "I doubt I'm in jeopardy. If anyone
wanted to do me harm, they would've done so before now."
"How can you say that?" she asked irritably.
"Bob was followed, and we both know it wasn't Bob
they were interested in. He was driving your car. They
thought they were following you."
Bob Beldon, together with his wife, Peggy, was the owner of
the local Bed-and-Breakfast, Thyme and Tide. Bob had
borrowed Roy's car and phoned in a near panic, sure he
was being followed. Roy had advised him to drive immediately
to the sheriff's office. As soon as Bob had pulled in to
the station, the tail had left him. Only later did Roy and
Corrie figure it out. Whoever had shadowed Bob had assumed
it was Roy driving.
"The letter said we're in no danger," her
husband reminded her.
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