“It’s not about you.”
He was so startled he choked. When he’d recovered, he said, “I beg your pardon?” He obviously thought she was joking.
Katharine wasn’t smiling. “We’re talking about my car. It’s not about you, or what you want. It’s about me and what I want. You picked the Lexus. I want a car that gets good gas mileage and doesn’t cost more than a lot of families make in a year. One that is easy on the environment—things I value. And I want to go sit in cars and get the feel of them. Find one I fall in love with. I’ve got some models in mind, but I need to spend time with each of them before I decide.”
He blinked. “Do you have any idea how long that could take?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll get another rental until the party is over, then next week I’ll start looking.”
“I won’t be here next week.”
“You don’t have to be here for me to pick it out. I promise not to sign anything until you get home.”
“You don’t know a thing about cars.”
“Do you? Really?”
He thought that over. “Not really, I guess. I know what I like, and what has good ratings. But picking cars is supposed to be a guy thing.”
“I spent last Sunday afternoon with a bunch of guys who know cars the way you know senators. They gave me tips about what to look for and avoid, and they suggested three models they’d recommend. I really want to do this, Tom.”
He draped one arm over her shoulder. “If you want to do it, do it.” He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “And I like your style, lady, but could you tell me one thing? What have you done with my wife?”
Acknowledgments
Thanks to…
Obviously this is a work of fiction, so Winston Holcomb and his military record are entirely fictitious. However, while I never assigned Winnie to any specific heavy-bomber group, I based his military history largely on records from the 376th and the 461st Heavy Bombers Groups of the Fifteenth Air Force. The Fifteenth did bomb the South Synthetic Oil Refinery, Blechhammer, Germany, on November 20, 1944, they did meet heavy flak, and two crews did bail out over Yugoslavia. As I have learned about the bravery of those crews during World War II—the missions they flew, the medals they earned—I have come to greatly admire them. So much so that for our anniversary, my husband gave me Bomber Missions: Aviation Art of World War II by G.E. Patrick Murray, the same coffee table book Tom Murray had in his library.
I am grateful to those who created and continue to maintain web sites for the heavy-bomber groups, and I owe special thanks to Hughes Glantzbert, historian of the 461st Heavy Bombers Group, for steering me toward other information and web sites I needed.
Thanks, too, to Bruce Gamble, formerly of the U.S. Navy and currently a military historian, and to Mary K. Howle, attorney and former Air Force Captain, for pointing me to other web sites and sources for military research; to Winter Benedict of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, for researching current prices for Monet paintings; and to Patricia Browning, long-time resident of Buckhead, who read the manuscript to be sure I fairly represented her neighborhood. The accuracy of the book is due to them. Any inaccuracies are my own.
Making books is a cooperative effort, so once again I have to thank my agent, Nancy Yost; my editor, Sarah Durand; and my publicist, Danielle Bartlett. They are the invisible faces behind these pages. Finally, as always, I thank my patient husband, Bob, who recognizes that writing is not a profession, it is an obsession.
About the Author
PATRICIA SPRINKLE grew up in North Carolina and Florida, graduated from Vassar College, and afterwards spent a year writing in the Scottish Highlands. She has been writing mysteries full time since 1988, and currently lives in Smyrna, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. She and her husband have two grown sons. When she is not writing, Patricia is active in advocacy for abused, neglected, and deprived children. You can visit her website at www.patriciasprinkle.com.
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By Patricia Sprinkle
Family Tree Mystery Series
DAUGHTER OF DECEIT
SINS OF THE FATHERS
DEATH ON THE FAMILY TREE
MacLaren Yarbrough Mystery Series
WHAT ARE YOU WEARING TO DIE?
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DIE?
DID YOU DECLARE THE CORPSE?
WHO KILLED THE QUEEN OF CLUBS?
WHEN WILL THE DEAD LADY SING?
WHO LET THAT KILLER IN THE HOUSE?
WHO LEFT THAT BODY IN THE RAIN?
WHO INVITED THE DEAD MAN?
BUT WHY SHOOT THE MAGISTRATE?
WHEN DID WE LOSE HARRIET?
Shelia Travis Mystery Series
DEADLY SECRETS ON THE ST. JOHNS
A MYSTERY BRED IN BUCKHEAD
DEATH OF A DUNWOODY MATRON
MURDER IN THE CHARLESTON MANNER
MURDER IN MARKHAM
Job’s Corner Chronicles
CARLEY’S SONG
THE REMEMBER BOX
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DAUGHTER OF DECEIT. Copyright © 2008 by Patricia Sprinkle. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Mobipocket Reader August 2008 ISBN 978-0-06-170798-8
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Table of Contents
Primary Characters
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 15
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
&n
bsp; Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Patricia Sprinkle
Copyright
About the Publisher
Daughter of Deceit Page 33
