Sinking Ships: An Abishag's First Mystery (The Abishag Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  His face was growing on me. “What happened to him?”

  “Turn the page, dear. Drug overdose.” Her distaste grew more pronounced. “You are not seriously considering him, are you, Leslie?”

  “He looks…” I hesitated, unsure what word described what I felt. “How much longer does he have?”

  “He had a DNR, but initially the doctors weren’t aware of the extent of his brain damage. He will be taken off the machines when the Abishag wife arrives. He might last a few hours but no more than a week.”

  I rubbed the edge of the photo. The way his head leaned on the pillow made it seem as if he was pleading with me.

  “Leslie.” I jumped at Florence’s sharp tone. “Choosing Jordan Ippel would be a mistake.”

  A mistake? I don’t usually get a warning before I make a mistake—and I’ve made plenty. “Why?”

  “Dear, your first husband was a pillar of the community, an industry giant and a family man.”

  He’d also been a thief and kidnapper. Only a few people knew that, and an Abishag was always discreet.

  “A poor selection now could limit your choices for future husbands.”

  “He looks lonely.” Till I spoke, I hadn’t known my feelings about his photo.

  Florence frowned. “Are you making an emotional decision, Leslie?”

  His geography interested me most. “No, ma’am, but I don’t think he should die alone.”

  When I saw Florence’s hands relax, I knew she’d shifted strategies. “If you’re serious about him, you’ll need your parents’ approval. I’ll call them.”

  I knew she thought that would stop me from marrying Jordan Ippel. I was 20, but recent legislation required a parent’s consent for Abishag candidates younger than 21. In the past five months, my mother used my connection with my first husband to further my dad’s interests, so I’m certain Florence believed Mother would never agree to someone who might embarrass my father’s corporate and political aspirations.

  That’s when I decided to marry Jordan Ippel. If I’d never be an Abishag again, then I’d choose a husband who needed me, not one my parents wanted.

  Besides, I think I knew my mother better than Florence did.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Between 1992 and 2011, Michelle Knowlden published 14 stories with Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine that featured hypochondriac detective Micky Cardex and others that did not. The 1998 story “No, Thank You, John” was nominated for a Shamus award. Many of these stories have been included in anthologies and translated in multiple languages. She also published a science fiction story for the More Amazing Stories anthology published by Tor.

  Young Adult SF with Neal Shusterman: An X-Files novel (DARK MATTER) for HarperCollins under the name Easton Royce and an e-novella UNSTRUNG in Neal’s Unwind world published by Simon & Schuster.

  In 2011, Michelle left an engineering career of many years to write full-time. Read more at Michelle Knowlden writes… at http://mlknowlden.wordpress.com/.

  Table of Contents

  Bainbridge Dictionary definition of Abishag

  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

  An Excerpt from Indelible Beats: An Abishag’s Second Mystery

  About the Author