Sound of Secrets

With misgiving, Nerissa Blanchard strapped two bags on the luggage carrier and looked longingly around her trendy apartment. How she dreaded the upcoming visit to her family's home in Stoneley, Maine! It wasn't as if she'd been away for a long time. Shehadmade two quick trips to Blanchard Manor in the past two months. Since moving to New York City four years ago, the days that Rissa spent away from the exciting metropolis felt as barren as if she'd been stranded on a desert island. And this trip was also unwelcome because Rissa definitely didn't want to be involved in her twin's wedding. But what else could she do? Portia had called a few days ago and insisted that she needed Rissa's help to complete her wedding plans. She couldn't disappoint her sister--they had always been inseparable, and now she would be sharing her twin with Stoneley Police detective Mick Campbell. Rissa hadn't gotten used to the idea yet, but she wanted her twin to be happily married. Drew Lancaster, Mick's sometimes partner, a man she preferred to steer clear of, was her real reason for avoiding the wedding. However, she was determined to be Portia's maid of honor in spite of the fact that Drew would be Mick's best man. She had only met Drew once--no more than a few hours during her last visit to Maine--so why did thoughts of the man infiltrate many of her waking hours as well as her dreams? Rissa couldn't understand. No one was less likely to fit into her life than a small-town cop without a literary thought in his head. Wrapped up in her career, especially the new play she was writing, she had almost succeeded in putting Drew out of her mind. If only Portia's fianceacute; hadn't picked Drew to be in the wedding party! Rissa begrudged every minute she had to spend away from the city, but she and Portia had always been there for each other. There was no way she could refuse to help her twin plan the biggest day of her life. As she finished dressing, Rissa put aside her personal problems and considered the latest news from home-- another reason she dreaded going to Stoneley. She had believed all of her life that their mother, Trudy, had died in an automobile accident when the twins were only three. But their father had finally admitted to faking his wife's death to spare his daughters the grief of knowing that their mother had sunk into a severe case of postpartum depression following the birth of their youngest sister. This new development in the family's dysfunctional history was almost more than Rissa could bear, especially since their mother had escaped from the mental institution almost eight months ago. No one had heard from her since then. Rissa took a last look in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance. She loved the old-world feel of her newest outfit--a long, black velvet tuxedo jacket and pants complemented by a frilly, open-necked white cotton blouse. She put on a pair of black-and-white leather-and-suede flats and pulled her long, curly black hair behind her left ear, fastening it securely with a silver clip. Hoping that the newest family revelation would be handled by the time she arrived at her Maine home, Rissa locked the door behind her and took an elevator to the parking area in the basement. She ran her hands approvingly along the side of the sleek, navy-blue Porsche that she'd bought over a year ago. Except for Portia, who never questioned anything Rissa did, the family hadn't hesitated to give an opinion that she was foolish to spend so much money on a car that she seldom used. No one knew better than Rissa that getting around in the city was best done by subway, but when she wanted to go outside the city, she liked the freedom of owning her own car. Hoping she wouldn't have to be away more than a week, Rissa pulled out of the garage and began her journey. Because she preferred to travel at night, long after rush hour, once on the interstaBrand, Irene is the author of 'Sound of Secrets ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373442386 and ISBN 0373442386.