A local woman missing- Mary Kubica

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThank you to my phenomenal team, without whom none of thiswould be possible: My editor, Erika Imranyi, for always being so verydiligent and perceptive, and for pushing me to make my words thebest that they can be. My agent, Rachael Dillon Fried, for being themost incredible advocate, cheerleader and friend. And my publicists,Emer Flounders and Kathleen Carter, for working tirelessly topromote my books.Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers and Sanford J.Greenburger Associates, and to the many booksellers, librarians,bloggers, bookstagrammers and readers who have championed mybooks over the years, especially the incomparable Mary O’Malley, forher passion and dedication to authors and books. I’m so fortunate toknow you.Thanks to my earliest readers for your friendship and yourindispensable feedback, including Janelle Kolosh and Vicky Nelson,and Nicki Worden and Marissa Lukas, who also provided insight intothe doula experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you to KarenMorrison, Adrienne Campf, Robin Krieb, Jackie Simon, AaronBuldak, Carlie Peterson and Hannah Peters for being so willing to doa favor for a stranger in a pinch. I’m so grateful.Finally, a huge thanks to my family, especially Pete, Addison andAidan, for your love and support.
ISBN-13: 9781488073960Local Woman MissingCopyright © 2021 by Mary KyrychenkoAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproducedin any manner whatsoever without written permission except in thecase of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents areeither the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses,companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.Park Row Books22 Adelaide St. West, 40th FloorToronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, CanadaParkRowBooks.comBookClubbish.com
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Praise forLocal Woman Missing“I
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Local Woman MissingMary Kubica
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Mary Kubica is the New York Times b
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LeoKateMeredithLeoMeredithKateMered
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PROLOGUE11 Years BeforeThere’s a
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thinking about his car, how warm it
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DELILAHNOWI hear footsteps. They mo
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my belly got to be so bad that I ha
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I do know for sure that there are s
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There ain’t much to work with in
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we ever want to get out of this pla
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when we don’t come, she says, “
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That lady hasn’t fed us since tha
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I bring the candy bar to my mouth.
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I call to Gus to hurry up. I don’
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direction so that soon I’m all tu
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back into the blackness of the shed
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I curl more tightly into my pill bu
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There’s a house outside. It’s b
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through a forest. Like the cornstal
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I shake my head. I don’t know not
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KATE11 YEARS BEFOREMayThere’s a k
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I pull open the door and the wind r
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life, a sense of purpose during tho
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down. In the city, raw sewage is le
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Maybe this was one of those times.
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disappears into the kitchen to keep
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I glance down at the phone in my ha
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think of anything I’ve done to up
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LEONOWTo be straight, I never thoug
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KATE11 YEARS BEFOREMayBea is in bed
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police, and became common knowledge
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me. But now I’m grateful for the
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moon is nearly full, giving off add
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Dad doesn’t know it but I’ve re
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It’s a media circus when we get h
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argument I want to have. I love the
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KATE11 YEARS BEFOREMayThe next morn
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long and straight because somehow,
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LEONOWThat first night in our house
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMarchI’ve
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I feel somewhat guilty for unloadin
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yesterday was the first time Meredi
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One by one people get in their cars
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puddles; Bea and I part ways and st
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“I’m so worried,” Cassandra s
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was looking at was human—that the
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and to the front door. She knocks o
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“That’s lovely,” I say.Bea as
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A body has been found.
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The coffee shop is new to me. It ha
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pay much attention to me that night
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An image of her husband forms: cyni
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the door. Other officers are inside
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The midwife replies, “Yes, of cou
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Later, early in the evening, we wat
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impression of a small castle. As lo
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Dad asks if you want him to tuck yo
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That’s when Mom turned the knife
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I write back, All first-time mother
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would be angry if the police showed
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Dad tells her, “I should have cal
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recollection I’d been hoping for.
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gray. Her eyes are gray. She has de
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He says reluctantly, “They found
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It’s as if Josh can read my mind.
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“What do you think, then,” he a
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quickly than most.“Thanks,” he
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play with Delilah. She makes fun of
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her face for signs of bruising. The
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I ask again. “Did he hurt you?”
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This is what you told the police: y
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMarchDinner
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remember, Leo, how this happened?
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KATE11 YEARS BEFOREMayThe next morn
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREAprilOver th
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The kids and I still stand outside,
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Bea stops me there. She takes charg
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KATE11 YEARS BEFOREMayDr. Feingold
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knot. We picked them out together,
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“Yes, sir,” I say, shifting my
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“She had a baby recently. It was
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I’m flat on my back. I can’t se
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREAprilShelby
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Within an hour a nurse comes in to
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“Of course,” I say.“I think S
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What his patients like about Dr. Fe
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the next contraction, he instructs
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I turn on the car and begin to driv
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Bea takes a cursory glance in the s
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go home. I can’t lead this indivi
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I spent a lot of time on those miss
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMayThe Tebow
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I should trust him enough to tell h
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There’s more urgency about gettin
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMayI haven
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I regret my choice of words immedia
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“Cassandra, if Marty is seeing an
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holding hands. I’m appalled that
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Piper Hanaka is your age. She’s t
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KATE11 YEARS BEFOREMayThe rest of t
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conversation—spoken in some other
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it that left me feeling violated an
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Outside the storm rages. It’s mor
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to see Bea’s expression, I see he
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house, so close to the circuit brea
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMayI can’t
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I won’t tell him now. I don’t w
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dancing has made him thirsty. Our d
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I’m the only one who doesn’t ha
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KATE11 YEARS BEFOREMayThree things
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parking lot, a 1970s neon sign flas
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MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMayMy eyes a
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Babies,” I tell her. I’d just g
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“I know her, Bea,” I say, and I
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We haul Shelby to the back end of t
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grimace. The coloration of her skin
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trees were here before the homes. T
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“It’s not your fault,” Dad sa
Page 241 and 242: MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMayThe next
Page 243 and 244: if I told the truth, it might get b
Page 245 and 246: I obsess over this. I try to replay
Page 247 and 248: LEONOWBefore bed, Dad comes into my
Page 249 and 250: MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMayI can’t
Page 251 and 252: She pauses for effect. “It’s ti
Page 253 and 254: that I shared with Delilah. My mom
Page 255 and 256: MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMay“I have
Page 257 and 258: in the trunk, and whether she was d
Page 259 and 260: But the longer he stares at those p
Page 261 and 262: better than that. You’re never su
Page 263 and 264: MEREDITH11 YEARS BEFOREMayIn the mi
Page 265 and 266: Who would care for her special need
Page 267 and 268: Bea comes fully into the garage.
Page 269 and 270: Another change comes over Bea. She
Page 271 and 272: hands. Her hair spills across her f
Page 273 and 274: It’s taking a long time for you t
Page 275 and 276: Bea is in the driver’s seat. Bea
Page 277 and 278: hers, gathering dollar bills. She l
Page 279 and 280: vacant or nearly vacant right now,
Page 281 and 282: friendship has waned over the years
Page 283 and 284: the building, and it’s upstairs.
Page 285 and 286: My question goes unanswered.Where a
Page 287 and 288: to climb, their movements in sync.
Page 289 and 290: remembers that when Bea came back,
Page 291: I hang up before she can say more.
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A local woman missing- Mary Kubica

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