Bad Campany Stoner McTavish Mysteries 4 – Sarah Dreher

They had so many arcade games, between the ones they’d bought and the ones they’d downloaded from Compuserve or whatever it was called, that their computer screens looked like an ad for Computer Games ‘R Us. And now Marylou and Gwen were talking about hooking up with the information superhighway. Marylou even suggested they get personal computers for their new home in Shelburne Falls, with access to Internet. Stoner put her foot down at that. Even though she knew privacy in these United States was as much an illusion as the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, she also knew that if she could tap into the government’s computers, they could tap into hers, and she had no intention of surrendering without a struggle.

No Modems in the Home had become her motto. Marylou gave in. Not, she said, because she was persuaded by the clarity and correctness of Stoner’s argument, but because it was the longest speech she had ever heard Stoner make and thought it should be rewarded.

“We have one at work,” she said. “Marylou–my partner, my business partner—and Gwen—she’s my partner partner…” They had to come up with some better terms. If the Eskimos could have over two hundred or whatever words for snow, lesbians needed at least three hundred for their relationships. The lesbian linguists had better get on this.

Though she imagined most lesbian linguists these days were busy fighting to keep the colleges and universities from cutting Women’s Studies programs. “…They’re really into the computers. I can’t help picking up a little.” Rebecca pulled up another blade of grass. “Stoner, how can I go back in there? They think I said those things about Roseann. How can I get them to believe I didn’t?” That was a hard one. It was one of the Laws of Nature that guilt rumored is always believed, while guilt denied is tantamount to a confession.

“The only way I know of,” she said, “is to find out who really did it. What do you think Roseann will do with this?” “I don’t know,” Rebecca said. “I know she feels out of place with us— she hasn’t had any theater experience, and she’s never thought politically in her life, or so she says. It might be the thing that makes her quit. On the other hand, she’s very loyal, and feels a responsibility to the rest … I just don’t know.” “Sherry’s with her now,” Stoner said.

“Good. Sherry’s great at handling people. You should have seen her in action during the Rita-Marcy Wars. She kept this whole thing together.” People were constantly surprising her.

© Copyright 1995 by Sarah Dreher All rights reserved, worldwide. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the publisher. Published by New Victoria Publishers Cover Art by Ginger Brown Author Photo by Margaret Langdell Acknowledgments No writer creates in a vacuum. Ideas are all around us, waiting to be picked up.

Overheard scraps of conversation. The way a person stands at the check-out counter at the supermarket. A sudden memory. A dream. The color of a stranger’s jacket. Newspaper stories. Television. Anything can jog a realization, or a thought, or a solution. Those of us who are truly blessed know people who are gold mines to a writer, people who have an instinct for what works, people who can think around corners for that elusive answer, people who can follow a train of plot and find where it went off the track.

When we get bogged down in our own words, or fall in love with a moment or scene that doesn’t really belong, they can find it and gently help us to let go. I have been and continue to be deeply grateful to Elisabeth Brook for being such a person. Her editorial sense and intuitive inspirations are always invaluable, and once again she has gotten me and Stoner out of some real messes.

And she does it while walking that very delicate and dangerous line between tact and honesty. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dreher, Sarah. Bad company : a Stoner McTavish mystery / by Sarah Dreher. p. cm. ISBN 0-934678-66-9 ISBN 0-934678-67-7 I. Title. PS3554.R36B3 1995 81 3′ . 54- -dc20 94-37032 ClP To all our villains. What would writers do without them? 1kitap1.com/en Chapter One “Dear Stoner McTavish… ” The letter was typed on business stationery in bold, enthusiastic print.

The business was an inn and resort near Sebago Lake, Maine. Probably another promotional letter, which she’d have to answer.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 53b135b21cd69e1a
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,097,957 bytes (1.047 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 0934678669, 0934678677
• Pages: 311
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 524.95 minutes
• Total Words: 104,989
• Total Characters: 592,967
• Average Words per Page: 337.59
• Average Characters per Page: 1906.65

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