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Автор Virginia Smith
Jazzy opened the bathroom door and stepped inside.
Caitlin was right about the smell of barbeque sauce. It was even stronger in here. Odd.
The room was small, with a bathtub instead of a shower stall, and a thick white curtain pulled closed. She grasped the top of the shower curtain and jerked it open.
The persistent odor of barbeque sauce struck her again. Then her heart skidded to a stop. Blood drained from her face.
Now would be a good time to scream. One gathered in her diaphragm, but her throat seemed frozen. Instead of a scream, she barely managed to produce a whimper.
A man lay in the bathtub. Fully clothed. Mouth open. Eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Dead.
Her stomach lurched as she scanned the sticky red stuff covering his body. Not blood. Barbeque sauce. The man’s body was covered in barbeque sauce.
VIRGINIA SMITH
Virginia Smith
It is good to praise the Lord and make music
to your name, O Most High.
—Psalms 92:1
In memory of Larry Kirk, and my dear friend Trudy Kirk.
You were both with me for my first Bar-B-Q Festival, so
every word of this book was written with you in mind.
Larry, I hope you and Jesus are enjoying the story in heaven.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
EPILOGUE
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Acknowledgments
I’m so grateful to the people who helped me take this story from idea to finished product. Thanks to:
My incredible husband, Ted, for taking me to the Owensboro Bar-B-Q Festival, and for telling me about hunting dogs.
My father, Myron Patrick, for taking me hunting and fishing when I was a kid, and for Old Sue.
The faculty and students of Franklin County High School, for allowing me the honor of judging their Miss FCHS pageant, and for inviting me to speak to their English classes. (Go Flyers!)
