Death of a Political Plant (34 page)
Read Death of a Political Plant Online
Authors: Ann Ripley
Tags: #General, #Mystery & Detective, #Fiction
“No, but he was recognized, and from then on, I essentially had to take over the story…”
Lederle’s eyes widened in disbelief. “But Mr. McCormick’s
editor told me that Jay McCormick was the only one who had his finger on the whole story to the day of his death in that fishpond…”
Hurd, though a print guy, had mastered the politician’s art of interrupting and giving answers to questions Lederle had not asked. “The disks were temporarily lost, that’s true, but they were returned to the Sacramento Union. And then before publication, Al Kirkland asked me out there, and I was the one who was able to fill in and provide all those little extra details they needed. I guess you could just say it was a question of being in the right place at the right time.”
Lederle watched Charles Hurd smile at the camera, and knew just what he was up to: not too wide a smile because that would be smirking; just wide enough to show that besides being a damned good reporter, he was also a nice human being.
The news anchor thought,
The little prick: he probably would have killed McCormick for the story himself, if someone hadn’t beaten him to it.
A former newspaperwoman, ANN RIPLEY now spends her time organic gardening and writing mysteries. She lives with her husband, Tony, in Lyons, Colorado. Her first novel,
Mulch
, won the Top Hand Award from the Colorado Authors’ League. She is at work on her fifth gardening mystery.
Ann Ripley’s amateur gardening heroine Louise Eldridge is back—for the fourth book in her marvelous series, and another crop of tangled suspense and savvy gardening lore in a quick-growing new plot of lies, betrayal, and murder…
THE GARDEN TOUR AFFAIR
On a dream location shoot for her TV gardening show, Louise finds that the beauties of nature can be deadly. The Litchfield Falls Inn, a magnet for hikers and nature enthusiasts, is surely idyllic—but there, amid the pastel blossoms of verbena and love-in-a-mist, she finds a rampant overgrowth of the human species. Is someone playing Grim Reaper among the uneasy guests in this Connecticut paradise?
DEATH OF A POLITICAL PLANT
A Bantam Book
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by Ami Ripley.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97–24545.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56941-7
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.
v3.0