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Copyright © 2008, Alanna Coca.All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted inany form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, recording or otherwise, without theprior written permission of the author.Manufactured in the United States of AmericaThis is a work of fiction.The characters,incidents and dialogues in this book are of the
author’s imagination and are not to be construed
as real. Any resemblance to actual events orpersons, living or dead, is completelycoincidental.
 
 
Prologue
Virginia, 1894
It was too quiet. Even the nocturnal songs of crickets and frogs were eerily absent tonight.Only her breathing, which she forcibly keptsteady, and the ticking clock on her bedsidetable permeated the thick atmosphere. As usual,only one lamp remained lit in the parlor, and themeager light barely reached the bedroom whereMary lay anxiously.He should have been home by now.Again she went through her mental checklist.
 
Dresses and undergarments that were ostensiblysent out for alterations or repairs months agowere now pac
ked and ready. Money she’d
stockpiled penny by penny was in thedrawstring pouch, safe and sound in its hidingplace in the hall closet. The two pertinent doorsin the house were now oiled; they opened andclosed without a sound. Squeaky floorboardswere mentally mapped out, and after weeks of practice she could navigate around the house
silently even in the dark. Jonathan’s hunting dog
was deep in sleep, thanks to the powerful
sedative she’d added to the brute’s water dish.
He would be quiet throughout the night.Most importantly, the tickets were purchased.
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uploaded a new revision for this document (#2)

01 / 25 / 2010
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