“Let’s get out of here!” one of the men said urgently.
“What about this?”
“Just throw it in. Let’s go.”
There was the loud crack of something heavy hitting wood, sliding then settling with a thump.
The men ran now, back towards where the drunk man was frozen in the blackness under the pier. They stopped abruptly, right above him.
“There was someone here. I saw him!” The speaker was angry, panicked.
“I didn’t see anyone. Let’s go!”
He could hear the two men milling about in the dark over him, the menacing weight of their boots creaking on the wooden planks a few feet away from where he hid. One of them, the drunk man knew, was Heppwith. Who was the other one? He tried not to breathe or make a noise. Then there was silence, the men stilling every movement, waiting for him to reveal himself. He clung tighter to the crossbeam, his body numb.
The other man broke the silence. “We know you’re here.”
“There wasn’t anyone, I swear,” said his companion. “Please, let’s just go.”
“Shut up! I saw him. I know what he looks like! He was in the bar!” the man barked. “Hey, whoever you are! I don’t know what you saw, or what you think you saw. This is for the brotherhood. You’d better not say a word. Do you hear me? I’ll come for you, too!”
THE NOW-SOBER MAN had no idea how long he had waited in the water, or how long he had been on this abandoned beach. He had a vague memory of emerging from the water and staggering away from the pier, once he was sure the men were gone, and running along the edge of the lake, away from whatever that terrifying shot had meant.
Here, now, the silence was absolute for a moment, like a held breath; then, as if with a sigh, the rain began. He squinted, trying to make out shapes in the obscurity, but he could see nothing. He guessed he must be outside town, down the lake somewhere. Standing up slowly, he felt the cold rain trickling down his neck, beneath his already sopping clothes, and he shivered so violently that his teeth rattled.
But something else chilled him far more than his heavy, wet clothes and the unrelenting rain. In a wave of despair, he covered his face with frigid, numb hands; ice and fear shot through his veins with the realization that someone believed he’d seen something he shouldn’t have—and that someone knew who he was and meant to kill him. He knew, right down to his bone marrow, that he had to get far, far away.
PRAISE FOR It Begins in Betrayal
“It Begins in Betrayal has a wonderfully complex plot with threads that eventually resolve most satisfactorily. The post-war time period is particularly interesting and well captured.” —Maureen Jennings, author of the Murdoch Mysteries series
“Action-packed and emotionally charged from the prologue to the climax . . . it just doesn’t get much better than this.” —Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews
PRAISE FOR An Old, Cold Grave
“A fascinating picture of a life in which many people spent every waking hour working and a disturbing look at the fate of orphaned children raise this mystery above the ordinary.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Lane Winslow, the intrepid sleuth of King’s Cove, is back in her third adventure and, like the first two, it’s a charmer. Once again, British Columbia’s own Iona Whishaw’s delightful modern gloss on the venerable British cozy provides a perfect weekend getaway . . . a cleverly plotted story with a delightful setting and amusing characters. Once again, Whishaw keeps us guessing to the end.” —Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail
“An Old, Cold Grave—Iona Whishaw’s compelling third novel—gives us a gentle rural setting, a body in a root cellar, and, of course, Lane Winslow, the best new amateursleuth to come along in quite some time. Plot, dialogue, and place: all the requisite elements for an award-winning novel.” —Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews
“If you enjoy a puzzle set in a 1947, rural BC community, with dialogue that reaches into the soul and a sense of place that is integral to the mystery, then An Old, Cold Grave is a summer read for you . . . In short, sin, plot, dialogue and place: all the requisite elements for an award-winning novel. It’s easy to imagine a fourth in this increasingly fine series.” —Bay Observer
“This series, with a strong and likable female protagonist . . . continues to get better and better. The novels not only use the past as a setting, but there are lessons about history—and how the consequences of past actions always catch up, sooner or later, with those involved.” —ReviewingTheEvidence.com
PRAISE FOR Death in a Darkening Mist
“The late L. R. Wright’s marvellous mysteries set on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast remain some of my favourite Canadian books. But this second novel by Iona Whishaw, also set in BC, is every bit as good. Both writers know how to make a book’s setting as important a factor as the plot line or the characters . . . [an] excellent chapter in what appears to be a terrific series.” —Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail
“An absolute winner [that] moves the notch up several levels when it comes to mystery writing with a historical twinge. The highlight of the writing is the seamless blend of the sense of place into the storyline. The impact of both world wars settles into the essence of any place, and this is a sterling example of how place impacts both events and people.” —Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews
“Set in 1946, this series cleverly combines both elements of a cozy and a spy thriller, with a heroine who is tough and independent, but harboring secrets of her own . . . The local townspeople are quirky and a nice addition, reminding the reader of another Canadian writer, Louise Penny, who populates her town with interesting characters . . . a series I hope to continue reading.” —ReviewingTheEvidence.com
PRAISE FOR A Killer in King’s Cove
“A good historical mystery with a cast of characters that will provide plot lines for the series to come. Iona Whishaw is a writer to watch.” —Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail
“Exquisitely written, psychologically deft . . . If you miss Mary Stewart’s sleuthing heroines, if you loved Broadchurch and its village of suspects, settle in, turn off the phone, and enjoy.” —Linda Svendsen, author of Sussex Drive and Marine Life
“A debut mystery from an author destined for awards. A setting that is ripe for storytelling and a convincing gift for portraying the painful and challenging life for the survivors of the two world wars . . . Whishaw is an exciting addition to Canada’s fine roster of mystery writers.” —Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews
“The writing . . . conjures up nicely the ambiance of a 1940s west Canadian locale and develops in depth both the characters and their interactions.” —San Francisco Book Review
Copyright © 2018 by Iona Whishaw
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For more information, contact the publisher at touchwoodeditions.com.
Edited by Claire Philipson
Cover illustration by Margaret Hanson
Design by Colin Parks
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Whishaw, Iona, 1948-, author
It begins in betrayal / Iona Whishaw.
(A Lane Winslow mystery ; #4)
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-77151-261-9 (softcover).—ISBN 978-1-77151-262-6
(HTML).—ISBN 978-1-77151-263-3 (PDF)
I. Title. II. Series: Whishaw, Iona, 1948.
Lane Winslow mystery ; 4.
PS8595.H414I8 2018 C813'.54 C2017-906578-5 C2017-906579-3
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, charac
ters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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