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Prologue

Suions of Canada was all about sunshine and water

Lawsons Lane had plenty of both for the children that lived there A dead-end street with steps leading down to a pristine sandy shore Cars that slowed for the bicycles swinging side to side on the dusty track Large grassy hter and joy fro heat of the day, ending in exhaustion as the sun dipped behind the escarpment to the west

It was considered to be a safe place to raise a fa above the beach, and a young girl vanished into thin air

A lone figure placed the shovel on the wall, where an outline in blackin search of the lost child

Bees droned overhead, and birds darted across azure skies

The first death on Lawsons Lane They said it was a drowning

Chapter 1

Inspector Williaet on the plane to Ontario On this special assignlue to integrate the Niagara Peninsula Major Crimes Task Force with Inspector Rene Eckhart at the helm

But Gibson had an ulterior ood buddy had let slip so that had stunned him He wavered on the truth of what he had been told, but it rown up in the same small town, had been a banker there all his life and knew a lot of people The man would know

Gibson was glad that this was a solitary jaunt Not only because he wanted to find answers, but he needed some time for himself The last year had been a stor Life at ho hollowness thrust away the light A sad senerous-sized seat, an extra pillow behind his head and a good deal of roouilt With half-closed eyelids, he tuned in to the stru into a percussion of breakers on a craggy seashore Pictures of kayaks zigzagging through never-ending nooks and crannies along the coastal inlets flooded his iradually ebbed arapped in the delicious comfort of sleep

The sticky, squelchy sound of rubber hitting tarmac stirred Gibson from his drea off the runway distorted the view It rabbed his knapsack from the overhead locker and headed down the aisle After a quick jog along a lengthy corridor, circue carousel, he finally reached the arrival area and out the door

The heat hit his cheek like a slap, but not as hard as what he saw before him—a Ford Expedition with a NPMCTF emblem painted on the door, its left front tire juainst the hood Her y body had sun-kissed skin of bronze Rosy swipes of colour splashed across her high cheekbones Aold hair tumbled in waves to her shoulders Dark pools of blue, the hue of an ocean pulsating, stared out fro lashes A sensuous hint of ht his breath She smiled

It was his ride, Inspector Eckhart Rene, not a man—definitely not a man He held out a palm, and she took the invitation A zip of electricity traveled up his ar hand into his jeans pocket and jerked his eyes fro not to drown Not yet anyway

“Pleased to meet you at last,” she said

“Me, too”

His feet felt leaden

“This is o” She tapped the hood and flashed hi smile

“Great” Gibson threw his bag in the rear and hopped in

First in line First out Eckhart hit the turnpike before the hordes had picked out their luggage She drove down the eight-lane highway at a clip Gibson eased back into his seat and listened to her chitchat Her voice wasmountain creek The truck slipped out of the hustle of the city Their destination was an hour in tiloom of Toronto Soon they neared St Catharines She cruised the backroads to the Task Force The scenery rolled by—the flatness of the region sporadically broken by groves of woods Out west, his beloved conifers shot up higher than skyscrapers, the coastal rains sustaining their growth Here the trees were liht

On the outskirts of town, the landscape shifted into cos and pave lot The red brick structure was a squat one-storey affair extended over an entire block Windows ht The temperature had rocketed past theabove each vehicle hood produced a delusion of fluctuating ie Ford F150 with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police logo sat crosswise at the entrance

“That’ll be Rodney,” Eckhart said

“The boss”

“Yup The superintendent”

A swipe of the electronic key and the entry clicked open It was nice to step out of the heat into a refreshing lobby The front desk was eh a cracked door at the rear

“We haven’t got a receptionist But soon enough” She gave a shrug “There’s still lots to do, but we’re getting there You should meet the officers first Rodney is probably with them”

She traipsed across the i on the tile floor, and peered in a doorway

“Hi, guys Inspector Gibson is here”

Three men popped out of the rooged complexion The hand he held out to Gibson felt like worn leather A man of the street Same as him

“Welco Really” The baritone voice was reassuring A youthful confidence sparked his hickory brown eyes His laughter rolled

“We’ll spin this into an ass-kicking cri in the full place with a sweep of his hand He wavered for a moment “East of the Rockies” And he meant it

“Yes, sir” DC Peter Jones let out a throaty laugh, his s a top row of perfect teeth

DC Ron Cooper nodded, and the two men

bumped fists

“So is your wife at the ?” Rodney asked A wide grin forot sed up by the craters in his cheeks

“Actually, I came here on my own”

“So, you’re an old married man”

“No We’ve only been married for two years”

“Second uess?”

“Yeah” Gibson shuffled his feet, wishing the cross-exa he didn’t want to think about It had ended in disaster—froe bed to the couch to the divorce court

“Any kids?” Rodney’s sree

“We’re trying” Gibson glanced at the screen when his cell chirped, but he swiped the ‘ignore’ button and put the phone back in his pocket

“No kids froe?”

Gibson shook his head

“Sorry I can’t help rill everybody I hed “I hope you can get along with my inspector Have fun with it” He headed for the door, letting in a whoosh of hot air

Eckhart glanced sideways at Gibson and licked her lips

“You bet I’ll dosuperintendent

“Shall we do a tour?” Eckhart asked

Gibson lowered his head and exhaled loudly

“You’re hungry?”