The Sleeping Lady

by Bonnie C. Monte

  “No problem, boss. I’ve got it under control.”

  I stopped at the grocery store and tied Jasper up out front, where he received multiple pats on the head and probably illicit snacks. Then we drove home to our new little cottage on Porteous Street, just blocks from our old house. I’d had no trouble renting out the Hickory Street house. It was, after all, beautiful. Apparently, having been occupied by a murderous lunatic only added to its cachet. And I was willing to rent to pet owners, which made it a hot property. I used the insurance money from Thalia’s death to buy the tiny cottage, which suited me perfectly. It had only one bedroom, but it was flooded with sunlight and had an overgrown backyard that I’d begun to tame.

  The feeling of coming home to my very own house was delicious. The framed picture of Thalia and me stood on my bedside table. I looked at it often, marveling at how young we were, how certain we’d been that we had our whole lives ahead of us.

  I put the groceries away and started dinner preparations. Sonia and Joe were coming over. Not only were they still dating; they were even toying with the idea of getting married.

  My sucrine lettuce was thriving in the new raised beds I’d built. I talked to Luc every few weeks, but I hadn’t seen him since our escapade. This summer, if my employees were seasoned enough, maybe I’d sneak away for a week. If not, that was OK. I knew he and the “girls” would be waiting for me whenever I decided to visit.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book was a long time coming to fruition. It’s all too easy to let a full-time job, a family, and life in general get in the way of writing. My profound gratitude to those who encouraged me to stick with it, convincing me I had an entertaining story worth telling: Julia McNeal, Julie McCullough, Donna Mettier, Debbie Clay, Maggi Garloff, Kate Fitzsimmons, Alice Watkins, and Mary Lou King.

  For their guidance and astute comments, heartfelt thanks to Leslie Keenan, Wendy Tokunaga, and David Corbett. Thank you also to Catherine Hunter for her brilliant copyediting and to Barrett Briske for her eagle-eyed proofreading. A shout-out to She Writes Press for its unflagging support of authors. Ditto to Book Passage, one of the great indie bookstores and a devoted friend of writers. For help spreading the word, I’m indebted to Crystal Patriarche and Savannah Harrelson, my enthusiastic publicists at BookSparks, and to Marcia Norris. And special thanks to Dan Monte, who never let my bedtime conversations about murder alarm him.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bonnie Monte, originally from Brooklyn, lives in northern California with her husband, dog, and turtle. When not working as an editor and copywriter, she likes to hike, garden, and—of course—read mysteries.

  SELECTED TITLES FROM SHE WRITES PRESS

  She Writes Press is an independent publishing company founded to serve women writers everywhere. Visit us at www.shewritespress.com.

  The Tolling of Mercedes Bell by Jennifer Dwight. $18.95, 978-1-63152-070-9. When she meets a magnetic lawyer at her work, recently widowed Mercedes Bell unwittingly drinks a noxious cocktail of grief, legal intrigue, desire, and deception—but when she realizes that her life and her daughter’s safety hang in the balance, she is jolted into action.

  Water On the Moon by Jean P. Moore. $16.95, 978-1-938314-61-2. When her home is destroyed in a freak accident, Lidia Raven, a divorced mother of two, is plunged into a mystery that involves her entire family.

  Last Seen by J. L. Doucette. $16.95, 978-1-63152-202-4. When a traumatized reporter goes missing in the Wyoming wilderness, the therapist who knows her secrets is drawn into the investigation—and she comes face-to-face with terrifying answers regarding her own difficult past.

  Watchdogs by Patricia Watts. $16.95, 978-1-938314-34-6. When journalist Julia Wilkes returns to the town where her career got its start, she is forced to face some old ghosts—and some new enemies.

  Murder Under The Bridge: A Palestine Mystery by Kate Raphael. $16.95, 978-1-63152-960-3. Rania, a Palestinian police detective with a young son, meets cheeky Jewish-American feminist Chloe at an Israeli checkpoint—and soon becomes embroiled in a murder case that implicates the highest echelons of the Israeli military.

  Glass Shatters by Michelle Meyers. $16.95, 978-1-63152-018-1. Following the mysterious disappearance of his wife and daughter, scientist Charles Lang goes to desperate lengths to escape his past and reinvent himself.