Portia tried her best to ignore the detective as she fought with the laces on her skates. Unfortunately, Mick Campbell was hard to ignore, his presence a disturbing note to the already discordant evening.
Exasperated, she met his gaze. âYouâre welcome to head back to the house if Iâm taking too long, Detective.â
âIâve got plenty of time.â A half smile eased some of the intensity from his face, and Portia found herself studying him. The dim light couldnât hide his rough-edged good looks. Heâd be an interesting subject to capture in charcoal.
By the time she finally managed to remove her skates, her stomach was twisting with nerves. Murder. Just the word filled her with dread.
THE SECRETS OF STONELEY: Six sisters face murder, mayhem and mystery while unraveling the past.
FATAL IMAGE-Lenora Worth (LIS#38)
LITTLE GIRL LOST-Shirlee McCoy (LIS#40)
BELOVED ENEMY-Terri Reed (LIS#44)
THE SOUND OF SECRETS-Irene Brand (LIS#48)
DEADLY PAYOFF-Valerie Hansen (LIS#52)
WHERE TRUTH LIES-Lynn Bulock (LIS#56)
has always loved making up stories. As a child, she daydreamed elaborate tales in which she was the heroineâgutsy, strong and invincible. Though she soon grew out of her superhero fantasies, her love for storytelling never diminished. She knew early that she wanted to write inspirational fiction, and began writing her first novel when she was a teenager. Still, it wasnât until her third son was born that she truly began pursuing her dream of being published. Three years later she sold her first book. Now a busy mother of four, Shirlee is a homeschool mom by day and an inspirational author by night. She and her husband and children live in Maryland and share their house with a dog and a guinea pig. You can visit her Web site at www.shirleemccoy.com.
Shirlee McCoy
Little Girl Lost
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Shirlee McCoy for her contribution to THE SECRETS OF STONELEY miniseries.
To Seth, whose honesty inspires me and whose gifts
never cease to amaze me.
To Beth Sharo. If we werenât sisters, we undoubtedly would have been friends. What a blessing to be both!
And to Rodney. Just because.
Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For You, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
âPsalms 116:7â9
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owâst, Nor shall death brag thou wanderâst in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growâst, So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
âWilliam Shakespeare, âSonnet 18,â lines 9â14
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
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
She was going to have fun if it killed her. And, judging by the way Portia Blanchardâs feet were slipping out from under her, it just might.
âCome on, Portia. You can do better than that.â Her older sister Cordelia laughed the words as she sped by Portia, her skates spraying chips of ice as she passed.
âYour skirt is too long and too full. Thatâs why youâre having trouble. Letâs go back to the house. You can change clothes.â Miranda, the oldest of Portiaâs five sisters, took her arm, urging her toward the edge of the pond.
âChanging wonât transform me into a world-class skater, Miranda.â Portia pulled away, her clumsy efforts almost landing her on the ice. Sheâd never been graceful on skates, but sheâd always loved trying. Loved the yearly twilight skate she shared with her five sisters, loved the cold crisp air, the feeling that no matter what the future held, they had each other. âBesides, I donât want to miss sunset.â
âWeâve still got twenty minutes until sunset. Thatâs plenty of time to get to the house and back.â Miranda was nothing if not determined.
âTwelve minutes. Give or take a few seconds,â Bianca, second-born and usually the peacemaker of the family, cut in. âSheâs an adult, Miranda, not a kid. She can wear what she wants, so stop nagging her.â
âI was not nagging. I was just pointing out that pants might be more appropriate.â
âAppropriate? Since when has Portia been appropriate?â Nerissa skated toward them, a smile lighting a face so like Portiaâs even their father had difficulty telling them apart.
âSince never.â Juliet joined them. The baby of the family, she had a restless energy that was never quite contained, though tonight she seemed subdued, her green eyes lacking their normal sparkle.
They all seemed subdued and Portia knew she was partially to blame, her heartache adding to the discordant note of this yearâs reunion. Maybe she should have stayed in New York. The family had enough to worry about without adding her troubles to the mix.