Wash Her Guilt Away (Quill Gordon Mystery Book 2) Read online

Gordon paused to consider how to reply, and Peter answered the question for him.

  “Of course not,” he said. “Gordon only does catch and release.”

  Sharon came to the table as they were laughing at the line, and Gordon decided to let it stand. The breeze picked up again, just enough to make the pine trees whisper. They basked in the perfection of the evening for several minutes without saying a word.

  It was Peter who spoke first. Turning to Sharon and Rogers, he said:

  “There’s one thing I’m wondering about, though. Are you sure you feel all right about running this place together when it has a witch’s curse hanging over it.” Gordon kicked his leg under the table, but Peter continued. “You know, ‘There will be no love at Harry’s.’ ”

  “But you left out the second half,” said Sharon.

  “What second half?” Gordon said. “That’s all I ever heard.”

  “No, no no. The curse was, ‘There will be no love at Harry’s — until Harry returns.’ ” She put her arms around Rogers’ neck and gave him a hug.

  “And Harry’s back now.”

  THE END

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks are due to a great many people who helped with this book. My wife, Linda, read it as it was being written, offered valuable comments and helped immeasurably with the formatting. Lauren Wilkins did a final edit that caught hundreds of mistakes that would otherwise have made it into print. Deborah Karas produced a cover that captured the feel of the book, and Greg Pio handled the author photos with skill and professionalism.

  In the marketing end, I am grateful to John Bakalian for his ongoing research on ebook publication; to Chip Scheuer and Rigo Torkos for creating a dazzling video trailer; to retired Police Chief Terry Medina for playing the detective in that trailer; to Melody Sharp for a complete redesign of the website; and to Karen Kefauver for instructing this analog dinosaur on the intricacies of social media.

  Author’s Note

  This book is dedicated in the spirit of John Dickson Carr (1906-77). Born in America, Carr lived much of his life in England and set most of his mystery novels there. He was a specialist in the locked-room mystery, and in his 1935 classic, The Three Coffins, (published in England as The Hollow Man) he devotes all of Chapter 17 to a lecture on how a murder can be committed within a locked room, or hermetically sealed area. In several books, most notably The Burning Court and Below Suspicion, he deals with themes of witchcraft and the supernatural.

  Carr wrote dozens of mystery novels under his own name and the nom de plume Carter Dickson. He was a contemporary of most of the Golden Age writers, and Agatha Christie called him one of the few mystery writers whose stories baffled her.

  Carr wrote an award-winning biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and was himself the subject of the biography John Dickson Carr: The Man Who Explained Miracles by Douglas Greene.

  About the Author

  Michael Wallace is a former daily newspaper editor and public relations consultant, living in Central California. He is a lifelong fan and student of mystery novels and a longtime fly fisherman.

  He publishes a weekly essay blog at outofglendale.blogspot.com and may be contacted through the author page of his website, quillgordonmystery.com

  * * *

  [1] See the first Quill Gordon mystery, The McHenry Inheritance.

  Table of Contents

  Amazon Readers Praise The First Quill Gordon Mystery The McHenry Inheritance

  Copyright

  Also by Michael Wallace

  In the spirit of John Dickson Carr

  Song

  Visitor on a Snowy Night

  Sunday May 7, 1995

  Monday May 8

  Tuesday May 9

  Wednesday May 10

  Thursday May 11

  Friday May 12

  Saturday May 13

  Interlude: Saturday July 15

  Epilogue: Wednesday May 15, 1996

  Acknowledgements

  Author’s Note

  About the Author