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Ecw Press - Gail Bowen

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138 pages

English

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'From Arthur Ellis Award winning Grand Master of Crime Writers comes the newest installment in the Joanne Kilbourn series When Libby Hogarth, the go-to lawyer for the rich or famous who have committed heinous crimes, comes to Regina to deliver the prestigious Mellohawk Lecture, she is met with a torrent of hostility and misinformation. Libby Hogarth had successfully defended Jared Delio, a wildly popular national radio host, against charges of sexual abuse brought against him by three Regina women. Her no-holds-barred cross-examination of the women stirred up a rage that still smolders. Zack and Joanne Shreve s commitment to protect Libby goes beyond the fact that in defending Delio, Libby had simply applied the principles at the root of the justice system. Zack and Libby share a history. They were the last two students to article with Fred C. Harney, a brilliant alcoholic lawyer who changed both their lives. Sawyer MacLeish, Libby s associate, was like a muc

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Publié par	Ecw Press
Date de parution	06 septembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781778520471
Langue	English

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What’s Past Is Prologue
A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery
Gail Bowen

Contents Dedication Character Guide Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Epilogue Acknowledgements About the Author Copyright

Dedication
For Jack David, and for my family: Ted, Hildy, Brett, Max, Carrie, Nathaniel, Madeleine, Lena, Ben, Peyton, Lexi and Ollie.
Together, you make everything possible.

Character Guide
Joanne’s Family Zack Shreve Fifty-six, Joanne’s second husband of nine years. Once a hard-driving, hard-drinking paraplegic trial lawyer who lived like an eighteen-year-old with a death wish, he fell in love with Joanne and decided to clean up his act. He previously articled for Fred C. Harney. Taylor Love-Shreve Twenty-two, a gifted visual artist. Joanne adopted four-year-old Taylor when her mother, Sally Love, Joanne’s half-sister, died. Lives with her childhood best friend, Gracie. Mieka Kilbourn-Dowhanuik Thirty-six, Joanne’s eldest daughter. Married to Charlie Dowhanuik (second husband). Mother to Madeleine (fourteen) and Lena (thirteen) from her first marriage and Desmond Zackary Dowhanuik (one and a half). Peter Kilbourn Thirty-four, Joanne’s son, married to Maisie. Peter and Maisie have twin boys, Colin and Charlie (five). Angus Kilbourn Thirty, Joanne’s youngest son, a lawyer in the Calgary branch of Zack’s law firm and a great admirer of his stepfather. Leah Drache Angus’s first love and fiancée. Charlie Dowhanuik (Charlie D): Thirty-six, Mieka’s husband. Host of the hugely successful radio show, Charlie D in the Morning . It’s a mix of in-depth interviews, fun interviews, music and Charlie D’s riffs on life. Maisie Crawford Thirty-four, Joanne’s daughter-in-law, married to Peter. One of Zack’s law partners and a killer in the courtroom. Esme And Pantera: Joanne and Zack’s dogs.
Associates Jared Delio Late thirties, former host of the morning show at MediaNation. Fired after three women charged him with sexual harassment. He previously had a relationship with Eden Sass. Kam Chau: Mid- thirties, associate producer for Charlie D at MediaNation. Libby (Elizabeth Margaret) Hogarth Fifty-four, lawyer who defended Jared Delio. She works with Sawyer at Hogarth & Associates and is asked to deliver the prestigious Mellohawk Lecture. She used to work at Ireland Leontovich. Eden Sass Thirty, third victim in the Delio case but perjured herself at his trial. Daughter of Gideon Sass, sister to Gareth and Gavin, and niece to Devi Sass. Pitched a podcast series to MediaNation and completed her master’s thesis, which Joanne read. Margot Wright Hunter Forty-seven, Zack’s law partner and Seth Wright’s estranged sister. Mother to Lexi and Kai. Her late husband, Leland Hunter, was CEO of Peyben. They gave Joanne and Zack shelter in their condo building during the explosion (earlier novel), and she is still their close friend. She used to work at Ireland Leontovich. Brock Poitras Forty-three, close friend of Margot’s, the co-parent for her first child, Lexi, and the sperm donor and co-parent for her second child, Kai. Manager at Falconer Shreve following the disaster that killed the other partners. Kokum Bea Seventy, Brock’s aunt Beatrice. Sawyer MacLeish Twenty-nine, long-time friend of Joanne’s son Angus, and like family to Joanne. He works with Libby at Hogarth & Associates. Fred C. Harney Lawyer, now deceased. Mentor to both Zack and Libby in their youth. Kevin Coyle Late fifties, Eden’s former thesis advisor and Joanne’s colleague. He lives in the same building as Eden’s grandmother, Devi Sass. Ed Mariani Sixty, the head of the School of Journalism. Work associate of Joanne’s and close friend. She was his best man at his wedding to his partner, Barry. Seth Wright Forty-five, Margot’s estranged brother. Featured in one of Eden’s podcasts and has romantic interest in Eden. He designed/renovated Kam Chau’s apartment. Devi Sass Early seventies, Eden’s aunt who became her guardian at age twelve. Gideon Sass Sixty-two, Eden’s father and Devi’s brother. A lawyer at the disreputable Gideon Sass & Associates firm. Bob Colby Late forties, owner of the private investigation company, Colby & Associates, that Zack’s firm uses. David Lewis Shevchenko Twenty-nine, lawyer at Ireland Leontovich. Adopted by Aliza and Daniel (both deceased) and raised in Saskatoon. Rylee and Cambria Mid-twenties, servers at the Mercury Cafe and Grill. Art lovers. Jay-Louise Yates Fiftyish, neurosurgeon dating Vince Treadgold. Vince Treadgold Fiftyish, orthopedic surgeon dating Jay-Louise Yates. Old poker friend of Zack’s and friend of both Zack and Joanne. Gaynelle Hawkins Late sixties, inspector with Regina police.

Chapter One
On New Year’s Day when I opened the door to take our mastiff, Pantera, and our bouvier, Esme, for their morning run, an icy gust slammed it back in my face. I peered through the window overlooking the creek behind our house: our run would be nasty, brutish and short. For weeks our yard had been buried in snow, and now the wind was spinning the snow into whirlwinds and flattening the indigenous bushes along the creek bank.
I unclipped the leashes from Pantera’s and Esme’s collars. “Take care of business, but be quick about it. Too ugly out there for us,” I said. As I hung the leashes back on their hooks, Esme’s gaze was doleful. Anticipating the worst, Pantera collapsed in a heap on the floor — 130 pounds of misery. “Look on the bright side,” I said. “You’re warm; you’re dry; and I’m going to top off the food in your bowls with the leftover moo goo gai pan.”
When I put their filled dishes on the rubber mat, neither dog moved. “That’s the best I can do,” I said. “Take it, or leave it.”
They took it, and I headed for Zack’s and my bedroom. The spot next to my husband was still warm, and I burrowed in. It was our ninth wedding anniversary, and I was ready to celebrate.
Two hours later, still warmed by the pleasure of lovemaking, Zack and I were drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace in the family room, listening to Oscar Peterson and wrapping tree decorations in recycled newspaper for storage until next year.
Our progress was slow. For Zack, old newspapers were a treasure trove of information that had somehow escaped his attention and offered nuggets of knowledge that he was happy to share by reading aloud.
“Did you know that Janus is the god of beginnings, transitions and passages?” he said, returning the Thomas the Tank Engine ornament he was holding to the pile of unwrapped decorations. “Janus is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. That has led to the fallacy that the month of January is named for Janus when, according to ancient Roman farmers’ almanacs, Juno was the tutelary deity of the month.”
“Is all this smutty talk just a ploy to get me back into bed?” I asked.
Zack removed his reading glasses. “Is it working?”
I picked up one of the five dozen shiny red balls that had hung on our tree. “Wrap your tank engine,” I said.
Zack had come late to family life, and he saw every holiday as an opportunity to make up for lost time. This year as always, we had chosen a stunning tree — a ten-foot Nova Scotia fir that was gorgeous, if impractical for a man who’s a paraplegic and a woman who, at sixty-three, has become increasingly ladder-averse. When the storage container was almost filled, Zack sighed. “This part is always bittersweet, but it was a great Christmas — kids, grandkids, friends, dogs, Leah and Angus getting engaged and best of all, you and I had plenty of time to fool around.”
“We did,” I said, “and we still do. We don’t have to be at Margot and Brock’s until six, so after our son and his fiancée pick up their friend at the airport, and then take our tree to the Tree Cycle depot, we have the rest of the morning and the entire afternoon to sit back and, as the medieval knights were wont to say, ‘take the adventure God sends us.’”
In the weeks and months ahead, I would think often of that lighthearted moment and of my naïveté in believing that Zack and I were a match for whatever came next. I would remember leaving a funeral and overhearing a stranger say, “Maybe life’s greatest gift is that we don’t know what’s ahead,” and I would wonder how I could have forgotten the wisdom of his words.
Our family had suffered the usual snakes and ladders that everyone endures in the game of life, but as the new year began, it seemed we had all found our path, so when Zack said, “Ornament wrapping takes its toll. I’m hungry,” my biggest concern was that I’d given the dogs the leftover moo goo gai pan.
“We’ll have to forage for leftovers in the fridge,” I said, “but first let’s drink a final cup of kindness to auld lang syne.”
Zack said, “Sold!” and picked up our tree topper. When he said, “You may have noticed that I saved this decoration for last,” I felt the easy pleasure of my husband and me moving seamlessly from one comfortingly familiar scene into another. This was everyday life.
One of Zack’s late law partners had bee