Chapter 1

Jenny Dale walked into the office of her Editor in Chief with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. She tried to steady her trembling knees as she pushed the door open and inched her way into the large, sterile room, presenting herself to Mr. Rowland.

“Come on in, Jenny. I have a new job for you.”

He motioned toward the chair in front of him indicating for her to have a seat, so she complied.

“A new job, sir?”

Mr. Rowland nodded, sending crumbs from the sandwich he’d been eating sprinkling down onto the desk and floor beneath him.

“Yes, it seems Mitchell is leaving town to take care of her sick mother, and I need someone to fill in while she’s out the next few months. That’s if she comes back at all,” he added under his breath.

“Sir, you’re asking me to be the editor of the fall line-up?” she asked, sure she must be mistaken.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

He dusted the crumbs from his shirt.

“I don’t know what to say. I…”

Jenny was at a loss for words as the excitement began a slow build from her gut up to her eyeballs.

“Say you’ll do it so I can get back to work,” he said, but his eyes trailed down to what was left of his sandwich.

“Yes! Thank you, sir,” she said, springing up from her chair and breezing out the door before he could change his mind.

She could not believe her luck. It looked like everything was finally falling into place. The time spent diligently working alongside numerous photographers, editors, and consultants was finally paying off after seven, long years at Joy Magazine.

She had seen movies and television shows, but nothing had prepared her for just how busy life in New York City would be. No longer under the eyes of the opinionated citizens of her small, hometown of Ombrea, she was one of thousands crowding the streets, a stranger among many in a big city. For the first time in forever, Jenny Dale was beginning to feel like she was in the right place, at the right time.

She had only two short months to plan and prepare the upcoming magazine spread. She would have to choose models, follow trends, select styles, determine what colors to use and the like. As daunting as the workload was, Jenny couldn’t wait to get started on the new project. In her mind, she had been preparing for this for years.

She decided a celebratory coffee was in order. Her mother had always said no work meant no play, but Jenny felt she deserved a little play after all the work she'd put in over the past seven years.

She waited in line at Starbucks, so engrossed in her own success that she almost didn't hear the musical notes of her ringtone from inside her handbag. Expecting a crisis at the office, something that came with the territory when working in the fashion industry, she quickly retrieved her cell phone, catching the call right before it slipped to voicemail.

“Miss Jenny Dale?”

The caller sounded brusque. It wasn't a voice she recognized.

“Yes, speaking,” Jenny replied.

“This is Chief Joseph Cartright from the Ombrea Police Department. I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, ma'am, but your brother, Joey Dale, has been arrested. He was taken into custody this morning.”

“Arrested?”

It was a very familiar word when it came to her younger brother. It was exactly the reason she had chosen to avoid contact with him over the past seven years. He was much more trouble than he was worth, and Jenny had long ago decided not to get any more involved with his life than she had to.

“That's really not a surprise to me, sir. What did he get himself involved in this time?”

“He is charged with first-degree murder,” Chief Cartwright answered calmly.

Jenny couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ever since their parents had died, during her junior year of high school, Joey had been in and out of trouble for things like petty crime or vandalism, but he had never been arrested for anything even remotely violent, and the last arrest had been before he’d turned 18, as far as she knew. She had always been grateful that despite his numerous shortcomings, he had never done anyone physical harm.

For Joey to be accused of first-degree murder seemed almost unbelievable, and for the most part, she had believed everything she heard about her brother.

“What?”

She swallowed hard and began again.

“Who did he…” she said, unable to find the words.

“Chloe Dale. His soon-to-be ex-wife,” the man answered.

Jenny felt the world circling around her. She had to grip the phone tighter against her ear as her hands began to tremble, to make sure she didn’t drop it and miss anything. Her chest constricted with grief, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she tried to hold it together.

My best friend, she thought to herself but didn't say aloud.

From what Jenny had gathered from the sporadic phone calls she and Chloe had shared over the past few years, Joey had been working at turning his life around since the birth of their daughter. He had taken on a job as an officer at the local station and was trying to stay on the straight and narrow.

The powers-that-be at the police station had obviously seen something in him that no one else had. Either that or they were desperate for fresh blood, because from what she knew, they had taken him on immediately, in spite of his past grievances.

For his own officers to have arrested him, there had to have been some serious evidence connecting him to the crime. It must have been Joey who’d murdered Chloe.

Jenny was completely shocked.

“Did you say, soon-to-be ex-wife?” Jenny asked.

As far as she knew, despite their marital problems, Chloe and Joey had never divorced or even separated. Chloe had been aware of her husband's difficulties with his sister and vice versa, so they had avoided mentioning him in their phone calls. Apparently the silence had caused her to miss so much of her best friend's life, and now it was too late to change that.

“I didn't know they'd been divorced,” Jenny said, still in shock.

“They were planning to separate. In a small town like Ombrea, gossip travels rather quickly. They'd been at odds for years, or so I hear. The situation was a rocky one,” Chief Cartwright offered.

Jenny nodded to herself. That was true. Whenever Chloe and Joey fought, Jenny could hear the strain in Chloe's voice, a tightness that suggested she was on the verge of breaking down. Jenny felt guilty for never having pressed too hard to find out the cause of her friend's sadness. It had always been so blatantly obvious, like an elephant in the room. Another conversation about Joey was the last thing she wanted, so she selfishly avoided giving Chloe the opportunity to share.

Sure, Joey had never been an easy person to get along with. He was stubborn and quick to anger. He had an innate ability to draw on a person's weakness and use it against them. When they were kids, he tormented her if she didn’t do as he said, or if she wouldn’t give in to his demands. He was a hard case then, and even more impossible to deal with as an adult. Chloe definitely married a man who needed more help than she could ever have given him.

“You’re listed as his only surviving next of kin. That means you become the guardian of their young daughter, Isabelle,” the chief stated after a long pause.

Having forgotten that piece of the puzzle, her eyes went wide as the realization struck her. She had to pinch herself to see if it was really happening, or if it were some sick joke or a dream.

“Right,” she said softly, realizing it was all too real.

Jenny's turn had come in the queue, but she dropped into the nearest empty chair instead, her coffee no longer an immediate concern. At that moment, all she could think about was that Chloe was gone for good and that her brother was to blame. It was a lot to take in at once, especially when the day had been going so well.

“Right now, she is in the custody of our local branch of the Children's Aid Agency, but you will need to collect her as soon as possible, ma'am. We don’t have adequate resources to look after a child here.”

“Right,” she said.

It seemed to be the only word she could muster in her confused state.

She heard the soft click of Chief Cartright ending the call. She sat in silence collecting her thoughts, and for the second time today, Jenny Dale couldn’t believe her luck.

What was she going to do with a child, and what did this mean for the fall lineup?