Shipwreck (7 page)

Bill put down his story. At that moment, Amy came into the room. She jumped onto the bed and snuggled up to her mother.

“What happened to the baby, Dad?” asked Wendy.

“Will guessed right. The young mother was not well liked by her husband’s family and had been treated badly. When her in-laws finally came to the village, they wanted nothing to do with her baby. They were only too happy to leave the little one with the village woman, Mary Ann Pierce. As long as they got most of the money. In the end, the child was dearly loved, and she grew up to be a beautiful and good woman.”

“So when did great-great-great-grandfather become a policeman?” asked Amy.

“After he left school, he went west. He was a lumberjack for a while, cutting down trees. Then he came to Toronto and joined the police force. Eventually, he became a detective. He had a gift for police work. He had the ability to put the pieces of a puzzle together. Also, he was the kind of man who refused to give up. He always wanted justice, especially for those who had nobody else to look after them.”

Amy grinned. “I’m going to be a detective when I grow up.”

“Last night you said you wanted to be a midwife and help bring babies into the world,” said Wendy.

“I’ll do that first, before I become a detective. Is that everything, Granddad? Is that the end of the story?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Can we all play cards now? Do you want to, Mommy?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll join you in a minute,” said Bill.

He went over to the window. It was grey and cold outside. The wind shook the trees. It was in weather like this that the ship had crashed on the rocks so many years ago.

Bill hadn’t been looking forward to Christmas without his wife, but suddenly he felt differently. He had a daughter whom he loved. When did he last tell her that? Not for a while, he thought. He had been so caught up in his own sadness that he hadn’t paid enough attention to Wendy. She had lost the mother she loved.

Bill began to think. Wendy’s house was small; his house was much roomier. What if Wendy and Amy came to live with him? It would be easy to turn the basement into a nice apartment where he could live. Wendy and Amy could live in the rest of the house. He would even learn to forgive Keith, if Wendy decided to get back together with him.

He turned back to look at his daughter and granddaughter. He smiled. Everybody needs a warm, safe place that is full of love. It is called a home.

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2010

The Stalker
by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

In From the Cold
by Deborah Ellis

Shipwreck
by Maureen Jennings

The Picture of Nobody
by Rabindranath Maharaj

The Hangman
by Louise Penny

Easy Money
by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

2011 Authors

Joseph Boyden

Marina Endicott

Joy Fielding

Robert Hough

Anthony Hyde

Frances Itani

For more information on Good Reads,

visit
www.GoodReadsBooks.com

by Louise Penny

On a cold November morning, a jogger runs through the woods in the peaceful Quebec village of Three Pines. On his run, he finds a dead man hanging from a tree.

The dead man was a guest at the local Inn and Spa. He might have been looking for peace and quiet, but something else found him. Something horrible.

Did the man take his own life? Or was he murdered? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the crime scene. As Gamache follows the trail of clues, he opens a door into the past. And he learns the true reason why the man came to Three Pines.

by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Very early one Saturday morning, Mike’s phone rings. “Nice day for a little kayak trip, eh?” says the deep, echoing voice. “But I wouldn’t go out if I were you.”

Mike’s business is guiding visitors on kayak tours around the islands off the west coast. This weekend, he’ll be taking Liz, his new cook, and two strangers on a kayak tour. Soon, his phone rings again. “I’m watching you,” the caller says. “Stay home.”