Janette

When Janette's husband of almost twenty years tossed her out of their home so he could bring home his pregnant girlfriend, he set Janette on a path that sent ripples of change through the small desert town of Cascadia. Life isn't all crime and detective work for Janette. As she put it, "My husband had a fertile week." She finds that she too is pregnant. Her age, exposure to farm chemicals, and the stress of being rejected by her husband combine to create a high-risk pregnancy. Her doctor tells her to avoid stress, which is easier said than done when someone convinces the regional library board to close her library. Henry mused, "Some people believe that things happen for a reason, that your circumstances moved you to the right place to get the kind of help you needed or to right a wrong." I shook my head. "I can't think how that can be. The only person I saw out in the desert was the state trooper, and I haven't seen him since. I can see him being the agent to right a wrong by forcing me to move indoors, but he didn't need to lie to me. After my dear hubby kicked me out, I wasn't rational enough to be scared." I scowled at Virginia. "That's strange. It was March wasn't it? I enjoyed myself under the stars, but it was cold and a bit windy." I sat and tried to remember. "The spot seemed peaceful. I didn't sense any danger. I didn't see any litter as if the spot were used for parties-no beer cans. What the hell?" I sat up. "People don't party there in the winter. I know I really needed to be indoors, but what was that officer babbling about that he checks the spot every night for parties. It was mid-week." Dimi muttered, "Your little town is full of mysteries isn't it." Janette had spent her entire adult life working at the library and working to keep their farm afloat. Alone, she found she had more free time to make new friends. As she struggled to make a new home for herself those new friends hinted that all was not well in Cascadia. The whispering of those around her set her to speculating on whether the odd happenings in Cascadia were connected. When she did try to brush off the rumors of missing money and drug dealers, a plethora of conspiracy theorists descended upon the library looking for clues in old copies of the local paper. If the local DEA officer was to be believed, the key to discovering the source of drugs, embezzlement at the schools and at the farm co-op must to be hidden in the library where Janette works. When a drug dealer tries to look in her windows, Janette realizes that she and her unborn child will never be safe until the perpetrators of the local crime wave have been exposed. She flees her new home, but stays close enough to work with FBI and DEA agents to track down the drug dealers and expose the federal agents who are on the take. In turn, the federal agents learn that pregnant ladies have creative ways of ending an interrogation.