January 15, 2021
Winding plots bring an ethics investigator into the fray when her best friend's son goes missing amid a sea of other drama. Friends and neighbors Emma Lawson and Kate Doyle are embarking on a new relationship together as business partners in Rainbow Alley Preschool, a child care center catering to Sacramento families. While Kate nervously awaits the first day of school, Emma hopes that her supposedly silent role as co-director doesn't distract her from her work as the youngest government ethics investigator at California's Hayden Commission. Emma's already distracted by a run-in with her recent ex, Detective Tommy Noonan, the night before. Even as she wonders whether something can be rekindled, author Calvin reveals the shocking news that Tommy's been killed that morning. An intertwined story tells of Janie, a young woman convinced that her brother, Samson, is involved in some kind of trouble by the cash she finds in his room. Following Samson into the woods, Janie sees him shot in cold blood and is certain Tommy was the triggerman. More interlaced threads flesh out the background with stories about the investigation into Tommy's death by his colleagues, the ambitions of a newly elected official who has eyes for Emma, and the disastrous day before the opening of Rainbow Alley when the governor's granddaughter, new enrollee Vivian Lange, is kidnapped. The day leaves Kate in the hospital and Emma desperately searching for Luke, Kate's teenage son, who may just be the one to save the day. Endless complications produce a rich and detailed story that may be hard to follow.
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