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Rezoken's Mods: Turn Off Light Sources
Modification to all fuel burning light sources (i.e. stone brazier)
Version 5.4 Release
Right click on the light source to turn it on and off.
Modification to all fuel burning light sources to enable you to turn them off and save the fuel that is inside them. You do this by Right Clicking on the object in the world.
The object will include a new text element to the "Status" tab stating "Switch: ON/OFF" indicating the status of the light source.
Install Instructions:
Place OnOffMod.cs under the directory Server / Mods / AutoGen / WorldObject / OnOffMod
Current Issues:
- Similar to the bug with doors, if attempting to use a Shovel with no item on the shovel it will not work.
- Campfire is not included due to the fact that it switches off automatically when no items are being crafted.
- Electricity fueled light sources are NOT included in this mod currently.
Hi Rezoken, nice mod you made here, may I include this in the Clays Toolkit mod please?
@ClayC sure thing. Just please reference my name somewhere as the original author and I have no problem with that.
JohnK last edited by
If you want you could make a PR to get this in the main game, and put it directly on the components. Can go into WorldObjectComponent.OnActInteract, that way you can get them all in one shot.
Hey JohnK,
I think that was probably going to be first thing to hit off. At the moment I am still in the process of configuring my development environment. But until we can get it into a release version I suggest that @ClayC continues on with adding this as a modkit.
I included it in Clays Toolkit, we are testing the last bit of the toolkit to make the release, I will send you a link to the post when it's up for verification, thanks @Rezoken :)
@ClayC Just so you know. I am now part of the DevTier group and I have included the Lights on and off switch into the base code. I will be merging it into the main branch soon ish in the next 1-2 days, which means it will most likely make it into the next patch 5.6 (if it gets all tested and what note first).
wonderful! in that case I will remove it from Clays Toolkit 5.6 :)


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Country is unlikely to see many greenfield or privately developed cities in the future as most of the efforts would be on revamping existing urban areas, said NITI Aayog Member Bibek Debroy.
"I think rare will be the case where India will have completely private funded cities. That is unlikely to happen, nor there is going to be a case where we will have completely greenfield cities," Debroy said addressing the inaugural session of a conference here.
"There may be a few, but by and large we are talking about brownfield cities," he added.
Debroy was of the view that almost half of the increase in urbanisation between 2001 and 2011, is in census towns, which raises governance problems of their own.
"Urbanisation in India was somewhat chaotic. It has not been planned very well. Most of the times when we complain about the nature of urbanisation, about the inefficient use of resources, those are fundamentally complaints about the bad management of the urbanisation," he said
Talking about public private partnership, he said: "I hate the expression PPP. Therefore it has to pinned down phrase. Too many people do too many things when they use PPP."
Elaborating he said: "For the most part, we are not really talking about completely privately developed cities. I am highlighting this because I have noticed that Paul Romer who is soon to become Chief Economist of the World Bank and much of the Romer's work is on propagating not just as an academic, but also commercially the idea of completely privately developed cities with as far as I know with dubious success and not academic but commercial."
Meanwhile, NITI Aayog is organising a two-day workshop on improving urban infrastructure through best practices in public financing on July 21-22.
The workshop will focus on areas such as PPP process -- key success factors from government perspective, PPP models and payment mechanisms, planning and preparation for PPP projects.
The workshop will be attended by municipal commissioners of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Assam.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Dr. Raghuram Rajan became Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on September 4, 2013. Prior to this, he was the Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School. Between 2003 and 2006, Dr. Rajan was the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund. Dr. Rajan's research interests are in banking, corporate finance, and economic development, especially the role finance plays in it. He was the President of the American Finance Association in 2011 and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In January 2003, the American Finance Association awarded Dr. Rajan the inaugural Fischer Black Prize for the best finance researcher under the age of 40. The other awards he has received include the global Indian of the year award from NASSCOM in 2011, the Infosys prize for the Economic Sciences in 2012, and the Center for Financial Studies-Deutsche Bank Prize for financial economics in 2013.


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Wilson Family Genealogy
The Wilson family research has been challenging, mainly because the family name Wilson is relatively common. What has been helpful is that not many of the Wilson men are named Abner. As that name runs through this branch continually, it has been helpful when attempting to locate the right line.
Travel Buddy's grandfather was Abner Edwin Wilson, born in Fannin County, Texas in 1869. He met and married Luci Whitehead in 1897 in Brown County, Texas, where he was a lawyer and later, County Judge. He died in Brown County in 1949.
The first Wilson in the generational search is Abner Zaconius Taylor Wilson. He was born in 1848 in Henry County, Kentucky. He went by Abner, AT, Cam, Can, and Ab at last count. But most often, he can be found under Abner. Many boys of his generation were named after President Zachary Taylor, but Zaconius is an unusual version of that naming! Abner met and married Anna Isabella McCleary in 1868 in Fannin County, Texas. He was a Baptist preacher, along with a couple of his brothers, and found it necessary on at least one occasion to preach with a rifle leaning against the pulpit. Abner died in 1915 and Anna died in 1930, both in Brown County.
Abner's parents were Abner Moses Wilson and Sarah Caleb Doyle. Sarah was born in Shelby County, Kentucky in 1805 to Farmer Doyle and Rebecca Cole. Abner was born in Fayette County, Kentucky in 1791. They married in Clark County, Kentucky in 1832. They moved to Fannin County, Texas in the 1850s, and Abner died there in 1858. Sarah died in Brown County many years later, in 1890.
Abner's parents were Abner Wilson and Lydia Garner. Abner was born about 1760 in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It is not known where Lydia was born. We don't know when or where they married, either. But both died in Fayette County, Kentucky, Abner in 1833. Abner was a soldier in the Revolution according to the DAR website.
This is as far back as we have the Wilsons. If you are related to this line, shoot me a comment and I'll connect you with Travel Buddy.


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Predict your future with a fun game that will integrate your knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You'll begin by going over the basics of Workspaces and HTML. Then you'll learn how to begin making forms with submit buttons. Next you'll make it look good with CSS and lastly you'll learn how JavaScript makes it all work together. The code works from the start so it's up to you to mash it up and make it your own!
Joy is a middle and elementary school teacher. She's taught in LA and San Francisco. When she's not coding or teaching, you can usually find her surfing, hiking, or sailing around the Bay Area. Find her on Twitter @joykesten.
You need to sign up for Treehouse in order to download course videos.
I forgot my password


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By Cher Salinas on October 21 2019 12:38:03
Once the task of creating an essay has been determined, the potential author should just initiate the process of writing, without any fear or comprehension. Once the first draft has been created, the base and the platform for the essay is ready, ready to be launched for the final version.
Targeting the audience: Hitting bull eye. Before commencing the journey of writing a successful essay, one should always keep in mind the audience of the essay. Which type of audience will read the essay? What is the purpose of this essay? Any author should be well prepared to answer these questions.
Creating the first draft: Initiate it! Initializing the first draft of the essay is as important as completing the whole task. It has observed numerous times that the first step towards essay becomes a huge task for the beginners.
All the words and sentences written for the subject should be synchronized in a perfectly uniform structure, providing a platform to the reader to closely analyze the thoughts, and in some cases, should be able to drive home a point.
how to write a resume for college
how to write a resume for teens
how to write a resume cover letter
how to write a resume objective


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Explaining the Criminal Defense Process
Legal Representation for Criminal, Traffic, DUI/OVI Charges
Our firm offers free initial consultations for anyone looking for legal representation for a criminal, traffic DUI or OVI matter. We firmly believe that finding counsel should be an easy and worry-free process. The attorneys at Probst Law Office are hard-working and confident in their abilities to offer the highest standard of legal defense and we look forward to sharing our expertise with you.
Appearing in court for an arraignment can be a nerve-wracking and overwhelming experience. Courtrooms are often packed with people waiting for their case to be called. Unfamiliarity with court procedures can result in waiting long periods of time to have your case called and, worse yet, having the charges and facts read aloud to a packed courtroom. This can be an embarrassing and mortifying experience. By hiring an attorney from Probst Law Office, you are guaranteed to have someone appear for you at your arraignment hearing. We assist clients in navigating the court system, having their cases heard swiftly, protecting their constitutional rights, and obtaining limited driving privileges for driver's license suspensions. Under many circumstances we are able to appear on behalf of clients at arraignments without our clients having to come to court at all.
In every criminal, traffic, DUI or OVI case, a Judge will set a bond, the purpose of which is to ensure an individual's future appearance in court as well as to uphold public safety. Bonds are typically set in one of 3 ways: recognizance bond, appearance bond, and surety bond. A recognizance bond requires that an individual sign a bond and agree, by way of their signature, to appear at all future court dates. When an appearance bond is set, an individual is able to post 10% of the bond amount in cash. Upon completion of a case, 90% of a posted appearance bond is returned to an individual. When a surety bond is set, an individual is required to retain a bail bondsman or surety to post the bond. A bail bondsman requires 10% of the bond amount as their fee for posting the bond, which will never be returned to the individual. Judges often have preset bond amounts depending on the level of a misdemeanor or felony. The attorneys at Probst Law Office believe that it is extremely important to appear and advocate on behalf of clients at bond hearings. This is our opportunity to emphasize to a court the positive attributes of a client's personal life, work history, and lack of a criminal record. We have achieved great success advocating on behalf of clients at bond hearings for bond amounts that are less than preset amounts often followed by Judges.
Pretrial hearings are often the first time an individual appears before the Judge assigned to their case. It is also the first time an individual comes face to face with the prosecuting attorney. Prosecuting attorneys represent the State of Ohio as well as agents of the State, including; law enforcement officers. Although most prosecutors are honorable, they are nonetheless trying to convict individuals charged with criminal and drunk driving offenses. At Pretrial hearings, it is necessary to file Motions to preserve constitutional rights, schedule future hearings, and negotiate settlements and appropriate resolutions to cases. Having an attorney to help with these processes is vital. Additionally, it is the goal of the attorneys at Probst Law Office to make sure our clients don't get pressured by prosecutors to waive constitutional and statutory rights, give up valid legal defenses, and prematurely plead guilty to criminal, traffic, DUI or OVI offenses.
Suppression hearings are scheduled court hearings at which a Defendant is able to raise constitutional errors and defects in arrests and search warrants in order to have evidence thrown out or excluded from a case. Suppression hearings are held on the record in front of a Judge. When constitutional defects and violations in a case are raised, the prosecutor has the burden of establishing probable cause for the arrest or search and seizure of evidence. The prosecutor will frequently attempt to establish probable cause by calling the arresting officer to the stand to testify. This is our opportunity to thoroughly question and cross-examine law enforcement officers and other witnesses. Having an experienced attorney to request and handle this type of hearing can make all the difference in your case. We have achieved significant success holding suppression hearings and excluding evidence in cases stemming from:
- Illegal traffic stops for minor traffic offenses
- Illegal traffic stops in OVI or drunk driving cases
- Illegally subjecting individuals to submit to field sobriety testing in OVI or drunk driving cases
- Improper collection, transport and storage of evidence in OVI or drunk driving cases, such as breathalyzer results, and urine and blood testing results
- Improper administration or field sobriety testing by law enforcement officers
- Illegal detention of individuals during traffic stops
- Illegal canine or drug dog searches of vehicles in marijuana drug possession and drug trafficking cases, as well as other illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin
- Unconstitutional and illegal searches stemming from search warrants for illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin
Attorney Michael Probst has successfully completed training for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) DUI and OVI detection and Field Sobriety Testing. He has significant experience reviewing cases for improper administration of field sobriety testing in DUI, OVI and drunk driving cases, and improper arrests stemming from non-compliance with NHTSA standards.
Today, more than ever before, more cases are negotiated to settlement by way of a plea bargain. The art of obtaining an advantageous settlement for our clients stems from hard work and a strong defense in order to gain leverage in a case. When a client enters a plea, they will be giving up all of their important and fundamental constitutional and statutory rights, including the right to a jury trial, the right to force the State of Ohio to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses at trial, the right to remain silent or testify at trial, the right to subpoena witnesses, and all rights regarding an appeal. Excellent negotiation skills is a must in order for any defense attorney to obtain a favorable plea offer. Having a solid understanding of courtroom procedure is also imperative so that clients entering a plea are not exposed to surprises stemming from attorney inexperience.
If in the event a client's legal matter cannot be resolved by way of a suppression hearing or plea hearing, it will then be necessary to have a trial. Having an experienced trial attorney to handle trials and jury trials is absolutely vital to protecting your rights. Too often individuals hire inexperienced attorneys to handle their criminal legal matters and end up with jail sentences and court fines that could have been mitigated and reduced significantly. The attorneys at Probst Law Office have proven trial experience and are dedicated to getting the best results for their clients. As a former assistant prosecuting attorney, Attorney Michael Probst gained a tremendous amount of experience sitting first chair during jury trials of defendants charged with serious felony offenses. Attorney Probst now uses his vast experience defending individuals charged with misdemeanor and felony criminal offenses, as well as traffic, DUI and OVI cases. As defense counsel, Attorney Michael Probst has sat first chair in jury trials for very serious felony criminal offenses, serious misdemeanor offenses, as well as DUI and OVI offenses. Additionally, Associate Attorney Colin Maher, has a significant amount of jury trial experience in misdemeanor criminal cases as well as traffic, DUI and OVI cases, stemming from his position as an Assistant Public Defender. If you have been charged with a crime in Columbus or Central Ohio, you need to speak with experienced legal counsel who has proven trial experience and who will fight to get a positive result for you. I encourage you to contact me, an Ohio defense attorney, online or call 614-232-8890 for a free initial consultation.


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Resource Links
Spread the word! Download this flyer to share the Culture Reframed Parents Program with your community… and help make lasting change.
Parents of Tweens Resources
Talking with kids about sex & relationships BRAVELY
Biological Body Parts Diagrams
Basic Anatomical Diagrams for parents of children and tweens
Teen Speak A how to guide for real talks with teens about sex, drugs and other risky behaviors by Dr. Jennifer Salerno
Girl Puberty: How to Talk about Puberty and Sex with your Tween Girl by Cath Hakanson
Boy Puberty: How to Talk about Puberty and Sex with your Tween Boy by Cath Hakanson
The Tech Savvy User's Guide to the Digital World by Lori Getz
The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Younger Girls by Dr. Cara Natterson (American Girl)
Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys by Dr. Cara Natterson
A Smart Girls Guide: Digital World by Carrie Anton (American Girl)
Hair in Funny Places by Babette Cole
It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris
It's so Amazing: A book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families by Robie H. Harris
Sex is a funny word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU by
Asking about Sex and Growing up: A Question-and-Answer Book for Kids by Joanna Cole
Talking about Sex – Anya Manes parent educator and coach
RX for Parenting – Dana Entin parent educator and consultant
Sex Ed Rescue – Cath Hakanson sex educator, nurse, researcher and counsellor
Triple P Positive Parenting Programs
Positive Parenting Ally – Understanding Parenting Styles
Parenting for Brain – 4 Parenting Styles
Parents of Teens Resources
Support links for Parents of Teens, including links to websites and apps for struggling teens
Teen Speak A how to guide for real talks with teens about sex, drugs and other risky behaviors by Dr. Jennifer Salerno
Other Resource Pages
Download the Parents Program PowerPoints & Scripts
The Culture Reframed Parents Program has been developed by a team of expert contributors, relying on professional experience, sound theory and peer-reviewed research. Research directly referred to within modules is listed below.
Click through to find more research relating to the impacts of porngraphy.
Course 1: Parents of Tweens
Module 1
Viewing porn on mobile phones
Lim, M.S.C., Agius, P.A., Carrotte, E.R., Vella, A.M. and Hellard, M.E. (2017), Young Australians' use of pornography and associations with sexual risk behaviours. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 41: 438–443. doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12678
Module 2
Impacts of frequent viewing
Donevan, M., & Mattebo, M. (2017). The Relationship between Frequent Pornography Consumption, Behaviors, and Sexual Preoccupancy among Male Adolescents in Sweden. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare. DOI: 10.1016/j.srhc.2017.03.002
Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2016) Adolescents and Pornography: A Review of 20 Years of Research, The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4-5): 509-31. DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2016.1143441
Impact on younger children
Skau, B, (2007) Who Has Seen What When? Pornography's Contribution to the Social Construction of Sexuality During Childhood and Adolescence. Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1044. Available from URL http://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1044
Module 3
Unwanted exposure
Mitchell, K.J., Wolak, J., and Finkelhor, D. (2007). Trends in Youth Reports of Sexual Solicitations, Harassment and Unwanted Exposure to Pornography on the Internet. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40(2): 116–126.
Intersex statistics
Blackless, M., Charuvastra, A., Derryck, A., Fausto-Sterling, A., Lauzanne, K., and Lee, E. (2000), How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 12: 151–166. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-6300(200003/04)12:2<151::AID-AJHB1>3.0.CO;2-F
Module 4
Child on child sexual abuse:
Barnardo's (2017) Police figures reveal rise of almost 80% in reports of child-on-child sex offences (online). February 3, 2017. Available from URL: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/Police_figures_reveal_rise_of_almost_80_in_reports_of_child-on-child_sex_offences/latest-news.htm?ref=121581
Ybarra, M.L. & Thompson, R.E. (2017) Predicting the Emergence of Sexual Violence in Adolescence. Prevention Science Journal pp. 1-13. DOI: 10.1007/s11121-017-0810-4
Module 5
Devices, Social Media and Mental Health:
Changa, A-M., Aeschbacha, D., Duffy, J.F. & Czeislera, C.A. (2015) Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 (4) pp 1232-1237. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1418490112
Kamenetz, A. Screen Addiction Among Teens: Is There Such A Thing? WSKG (online) February 5, 2018. Available from URL: https://wskg.org/npr_story_post/screen-addiction-among-teens-is-there-such-a-thing/
Scutti, S. Your smartphone may be hurting your sleep. CNN (online) June 23, 2017. Available from URL: https://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/09/health/smartphones-harm-sleep/index.html
Twenge, J.M., Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? The Atlantic (online) September 2017 Issue. Available from URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/
Twenge, J.M. With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there's a likely culprit. The Conversation (online) November 15, 2017. Available from URL: https://theconversation.com/with-teen-mental-health-deteriorating-over-five-years-theres-a-likely-culprit-86996
Twenge, J.M., Joiner, T.E., Rogers, M.L., Martin, G.N. (2017) Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time. Clinical Psychological Science, Vol 6, Issue 1, pp. 3 – 17. November 14, 2017. DOI: 10.1177/2167702617723376
Course 2: Prevention, Intervention & Recovery


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Teams are spending money to retain their high-value players, such as Denver's Champ Bailey and Oakland's Richard Seymour, who have locked up surprisingly large contracts before the expiration of the collective-bargaining agreement.
Yet, the Patriots have stood pat, and with each passing day, it seems less and less likely they'll reach a deal with left guard Logan Mankins or left tackle Matt Light. Do you think this is a smart play on their end, or should they sign their linemen before things get crazy with a looming lockout?
The Patriots are also set up to be one of the power players in April's draft, and this should be an important week for the candidates on their big board. Who will the Patriots be eyeing at the combine and who do you want them to target with those early picks?
Leave your question for Jeff Howe's mailbag in the comments section below or via Twitter. Jeff will pick a few questions to answer every week. Be sure to check back to see if your question was answered by Jeff.


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Preparations for the store continues and I wanted to add some earthy antlers to the shop but since I am not a fan of taxidermy I thought I would make some antler mixed media pieces. I got online and looked for a Canadian distributor for Carboard Safari. They are a company that brings you "environmentally friendly, recycled cardboard creations" which you assemble yourself. They come in white and brown. A few even come in black. The first one I did was called Buck Jr. and I decided to paint him in a teal.
Then I took my favourite mint spray from Heidi Swap with a flower stencil to give it a bit of dimension.
So many pieces to these guys, you have to be careful putting them together not to bend the bits.
For Fred the moose, I left the craft background and applied black Liquitex Spray Paint with the Crafter's Workshop Stencil Quatrefoil . I am loving this new spray product as it has all the convenience of a spray paint without the nasty odour. It also washes up with water if you get it while it is still wet.
The antlers on this one even curve forward a little. The details on these are great.
I bought a third (because always in odd numbers when it comes to design and balance) which is Micro Tex, the longhorn. I wanted to leave one in the natural kraft colour and since this guy's pieces were so tiny I figured it was the best choice. He even has a little ear tag.
Don't they look adorable all together???


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Alice in Jeopardy
Hardcover(Large Print Edition)
Temporarily Out of Stock Online
"I have your children.
Don't call the police, or they'll die."
It's a nightmare no parent should ever endure. Especially Alice Glendenning, a South Florida real estate agent who hasn't managed to sell a single home or collect any insurance money after her husband's fatal boating accident. Her daughter and son's kidnappers demand $250,000, the exact amount she's supposed to receive from the insurance company. To complicate matters, her housekeeper has contacted the police a glaring error in judgment that puts a spotlight on the crime, the children's lives at risk...and Alice in jeopardy.
Product Details
|Publication date:
|Edition description:
|Large Print Edition
|Product dimensions:
|5.74(w) x 8.66(h) x 1.01(d)
|Age Range:
|8 - 12 Years
About the Author
Ed McBain, a recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's coveted Grand Master Award, was also the first American to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers Association's highest award. His books have sold more than one hundred million copies, ranging from the more than fifty titles in the 87th Precinct series (including the Edgar Award–nominated Money, Money, Money) to the bestselling novels written under his own name, Evan Hunter—including The Blackboard Jungle (now in a fiftieth anniversary edition from Pocket Books) and Criminal Conversation. Fiddlers, his final 87th Precinct novel, was recently published in hardcover. Writing as both Ed McBain and Evan Hunter, he broke new ground with Candyland, a novel in two parts. He also wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. He died in 2005.
Visit EdMcBain.com.
Read an Excerpt
Alice in Jeopardy
By Ed McBain
Simon & SchusterCopyright © 2005 Ed McBain
All right reserved.
Chapter One
When the same nightmare awakens her, she sits bolt upright in the middle of the bed.
Where am I? she thinks.
And blinks at the bedside clock.
She is instantly wide awake.
"Kids!" she yells. "Jamie! Ashley! Up! We're late! Up, guys!"
She hears grumbling down the hall. Ashley's voice. Jamie hasn't spoken for almost eight months now.
"Guys, are you up?" she shouts.
"Yes, Mom!" Ashley calls.
Ten years old, the elder of the two. Her eyes and her hair brown, like Alice's. Eight-year-old Jamie favors his father. Blond hair and blue eyes. She can never look into those eyes without recalling that terrible day.
She shakes off the nightmare and gets out of bed.
In the shower, she realizes she set the alarm's wakeup time, but neglected to slide the on-off switch to the right. Hurrying to lather, she drops the soap, the heavy bar falling onto the little toe of her left foot. Yelping in pain -- it feels as if someone has hit her with a hammer -- she yells, "Damn it to hell!" and bends down to recover the slippery bar. Her butt hits the hot-cold lever on the tiled wall. The water turns instantly ice cold. She straightens in surprise, drops the soap again, missing her foot this time, and backs away from the icy stream,thinking None of this would be happening if Eddie were still alive.
But Eddie is not still alive, she thinks, Eddie is dead -- and almost bursts into tears.
She reaches through the slanting curtain of frigid water, and turns off the shower.
The kids are supposed to be at school at eight-fifteen. She is twenty minutes late getting them there. Jamie has forgotten his lucky red cap, so she has to drive all the way back to the house for it, the traffic on U.S. 41 impossible even now in the off-season. By the time she brings the cap to him at school, and then drives to the office on The Ring, it is almost 9:30. Her appointment with Reginald Webster is at ten. She barely has time to check her e-mail, go over the new listings that Aggie has placed on her desk, put on some lipstick, which she didn't have time to do before they left the house, visit the ladies' room one last time, and here he is!
Forty-three years old perhaps, tall and somewhat good-looking in a dissipated way, suntanned from hours spent aboard his thirty-foot Catalina. He is looking for a house on deep sailboat water.
"People call me Webb," he says. "Better than Reggie, don't you think?" Holding her hand. "Anything's better than Reggie. Have you found some good houses for me?"
"I think so," she says, and withdraws her hand. "Would you care for some coffee, or should we just get started?"
"I wouldn't mind a cup, if it's already made," he says.
She buzzes for Aggie and asks her to bring in two cups of coffee. While they are waiting, she shows Webb pictures of the dozen or so houses she's pulled from the internet. He seems interested in two
of them on Willard, and another one out on Tall Grass. The two keys are at opposite ends of Cape October. It is going to be a long day.
Aggie comes in carrying a tray with two coffee cups, a creamer, and a sugar bowl on it. As she is placing the creamer and sugar bowl on the desk, she accidentally knocks over Webb's cup, spilling the contents onto his left trouser leg. He jumps up, bellowing in surprise, and then immediately recovers his cool.
"That's okay," he says, and laughs. "I'm about coffeed out, anyway."
She is starting to tell Reginald Webster how Cape October got its name. They have already seen the two houses on Willard Key, and are driving out to Tall Grass.
"Because that's when the first tourists come down," Webb says. "October."
"No, no," she says. "Actually, the name is an odd combination of Seminole and Spanish."
She goes on to explain that when the Spaniards first came to southwest Florida, the Seminole word tha-kee for "big" was already in place, and they added the Spanish word cabo to it, and came up with the name "Cabo Tha-kee," or "Big Cape." This eventually became slurred and contracted to "Cab'Otha-kee," which was then finally Hispanicized to "Cab'Octubre," which of course was "Cape October" in English.
"Or so the story goes," she says, and turns to him and smiles.
The eastern rim of October Bay is jaggedly defined by U.S. 41, more familiarly known as the Tamiami Trail. Frank Lane, the owner and sole proprietor of Lane Realty, believes that "Tamiami" is redneck for "To Miami." Alice doesn't know if this true or not. But if you follow 41 south, it leads eventually to Alligator Alley, which then crosses the Florida peninsula to the east coast and, of course, Miami. So maybe he's right.
There are four keys off the Cape's mainland. Beyond these so-called barrier islands lies the vast Gulf of Mexico. Sail out due west from the Cape, and eventually you'll make landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas. If you're lucky.
"So how old are you, Alice?" he asks her. "May I call you Alice?"
"Sure," she says.
"So how old are you, Alice?" he asks again.
She doesn't think that's any of his business, but he is a client, and neither does she wish to appear rude.
"Thirty-four," she says.
"Sorry to hear that."
"Yes," she says.
"Any children?"
"Two, a boy and a girl."
"Tough break."
"Yes," she says again.
"How long ago?" he asks.
"You know," she says, "I'm sorry, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"Okay," he says, and shrugs. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."
"That's okay," she says, and then softens her tone. "It's just that it's still painful."
"Must've been recent then, huh?" he says, and when she doesn't answer, he says, "Sorry."
They ride in silence for several moments.
"Was it an accident?" he asks.
She doesn't answer.
"Sometimes it helps to talk about it," he says. "I figure he had to've been young, right? I mean, you're only thirty-four. So it had to've been either a heart attack or some kind of accident, am I right?"
"He drowned eight months ago," Alice says, and Webb remains silent for the rest of the trip to Tall Grass.
"The house was built in 1956," she tells him. "Named for Jennifer Bray Healey, who had it designed by Thomas Cooley and his son. They're famous Cape October architects."
"Never heard of them," Webb says.
"They designed a great many of the buildings downtown, I'll take you to see some of them later, if you like. The Healey house is considered a hallmark of the Cape's modern architectural movement."
They are standing in the oval driveway in front of the house. Alice is deliberately postponing that moment when she unlocks the front door and opens it onto the spectacular panoramic view of Little October Bay. It never fails to knock the socks off any prospective buyer.
"The house fell into disrepair after Mrs. Healey died," she says, searching in her bag for the key to the lockbox. "The present owners -- Frank and Marcia Allenby -- bought it two years ago. They've been renovating it ever since, all in accordance with historic guidelines. The rules are that you can make changes provided you don't alter any 'historically or architecturally significant aspects of the design,' quote unquote."
"Sounds like bureaucratic red tape," Webb says.
"Well, no, not actually. The regulations are there to protect the environment and the property itself. This is a landmark house, you know."
"Mm," he says.
"Ah, here it is," she says, and finds the key to the lockbox, and then opens the box, and removes the key to the front door. "The owners are up north," she says over her shoulder, "they also have a home in North Carolina." She inserts the key into the lock on the front door, twists the key, opens the door, turns to him, and says, "Please come in."
The view is truly breathtaking.
From just inside the front door, one can see through the living room to the sliding glass doors at the rear of the house, and beyond those doors to the wooden platforms that drop gradually from one to the other, down to the dock where a thirty-two-foot Seaward Eagle is moored to the pilings. Out over the bay, a squadron of central casting pelicans swoop low over the calm silent waters.
"Nice," Webb says.
"And you get this same magnificent view from every room in the house," she says.
"Was it a boating accident?" he asks.
"Yes," she says briefly, and leads him through the living room, past the fireplace...
"That's fossil stone," she says. "The chimney's been restored, with a new flue and top. The cedar floors are new, too, throughout the entire house."
"Out here on the Bay?" he asks.
"The Gulf," she says, again briefly, and opens one of the sliding doors. "All the windows and doors were replaced during the renovation, this hardware is all new," she says, and steps out onto the first of the platforms.
"The decks were all replaced and enlarged, too," she says. "Highest grade, clean-cut, dense dry wood and stainless steel screws..."
...and walks him down to the dock itself.
"Note the swimming pool and privacy garden just off the master bedroom," she says.
The Allenbys' power cruiser sits bobbing gently alongside the dock.
"The dock is new, forty feet long. It can hold one large and two small boats, or a second boat up to twenty feet. Dual 50 AMP service to the dock. Full access to the Gulf of Mexico, no bridges on the way."
"When did you start selling real estate?"
"Almost six months ago," she says.
"Lots of widows in the real estate game," he says.
"I hadn't noticed."
"Widows and divorcées. Keeps them busy, I suppose."
She wants to tell him that this is more than busywork, this is her way of starting a new life, her way of coping with the aftermath of her husband's senseless death, when her very existence was shattered...
She catches herself, looks out over the water.
"It's so utterly still here," she says.
She allows him to stand on the dock in silence for a while, savoring the solitude and the majestic view.
"Come," she says, "let me show you the rest of the house."
Inside again, she shows him the kitchen with its custom teak countertop and hand-built, hand-painted kitchen cabinets, its Miele and Thermador appliances...
"A water softener has been added to the entire house," she says, "and there's a new two-zone air-conditioning system with all new ducts. All the plumbing and plumbing hardware was replaced, too, including a new line to the street. There's a new irrigation system, a new well pump, a new shell driveway. In effect, you'd be getting a brand new house that just happens to be a historic landmark as well."
She takes him into the large room on the southern end of the house. From Frank Allenby's spacious desk, the view over the bay is spectacular.
"This is actually a second bedroom," she says, "it has its own private bath. But the Allenbys live here alone, so Frank uses it as an office."
"They say it takes a year," Webb says.
"I beg your pardon?"
"To get over a divorce or a death."
She says nothing.
"I've been divorced for nine months now. You suppose they're right?" he asks.
"I have no idea."
"Are you over it yet?"
"I get by," she says.
Which isn't true. She is struggling. She is struggling mightily.
"The master bedroom is at the other end of the house," she says. "It's identical to this one. Think of the house as a beautiful butterfly, the living room and dining room as its body, the two bedrooms as its wings."
"How large is the living room?"
"Twenty by thirty. That's a good-sized room."
"And the bedrooms?"
"Each fifteen by twenty. Come, let me show you the other one. Total square footage under air is a bit over three thousand."
She leads him through the house again, past the living room, and into the dining room, and then through to the master bedroom.
"From the bed, you can look right down into the privacy garden and the pool," she says.
"How much are they asking?"
"A million-seven. They've been offered a mill-four but they turned it down. I think they might be willing to let it go for a mill-six, somewhere in there."
"That's a lot of money," he says.
"Not for this location."
"For any location," he says. "A million-six comes to more than five hundred dollars a square foot."
"You've got to figure a million for the property alone," she says. "You won't find many other views like this one."
"Well, I'll have to think about it," he says, and her heart sinks.
She gets back to the office at a quarter past noon.
They exchange phone numbers, and Alice promises to have some new houses to show him by tomorrow morning at nine, when they'll go out looking again. She hopes he might call before then with an offer on any of the three houses she's shown him, but she knows this is unlikely.
He'd told her he was looking for something that would cost no more than a million, a million-five, and she'd assured him that getting an eighty percent mortgage would be no problem. That means he would have to come up with $320,000 in cash if he goes for the Healey house at a million-six. She knows for certain that Frank and Marcia Allenby will never budge below a million-six, never.
Of the seven percent commission on the sale, the agency will keep three and Alice will take home four, which comes to $64,000. She figures that will carry her a good year and more, even if she doesn't make another sale, a likelihood in that she hasn't made a sale thus far, and she's already been working for Lane Realty for almost six months now.
She took the job at the end of November, when she realized she wasn't going to be able to make it on the scant savings she and Eddie had managed to accumulate since their move to Florida. The house she still lives in with the kids is in a good school district, even if it does cost $1,600 a month, which at her present rate of cash flow she will no longer be able to afford come June, unless Mr. Reginald Webster or somebody or anybody buys something. Or unless, of course, the insurance money comes through. It was supposed to come through a month and a half ago.
She picks up the phone, dials a number by heart, and waits.
"Briggs, Randolph and Soames," a woman's voice says.
"Mr. Briggs, please," she says.
"May I say who's calling?"
"Alice Glendenning."
"One moment, please."
She waits.
"Hi, Alice," a man's voice says.
"Hello, Andy, how are you?"
"Good, thanks, and you?"
"Fine, Andy. Andy, I hate to keep bothering you about this..."
"It's no bother at all," Andy says. "I'm as annoyed as you are."
"Have you heard anything from them?"
"They're still stalling."
"It's been eight months now," she says. "What proof do they need?"
"A certificate of death, they say. Which is absurd in this case. The man drowned at sea, his remains were never...forgive me, Alice," he says.
"That's all right."
"But the facts..."
She knows the facts. Eddie took the sloop out for a moonlight sail. It was a small boat, the waters on the Gulf were very high that night. There was no one aboard when the tanker came across her the next morning, still under sail. Eddie had either fallen overboard or been washed overboard. Those were the facts.
"Garland has no right to withhold payment," Andy says.
"But they are."
"Yes, because there's a lot of money involved here. And because they're in trouble financially, this goddamn administration. With the double indemnity clause, the death benefit comes to two...by the way, no one at Garland is claiming that drowning at sea doesn't qualify as an accident."
"Well, they'd be foolish to do that."
"They're foolish to try wriggling out of this in the first place. Other insurance companies are paying the same sorts of claims, you know. It's not as if nothing like this has ever happened before, Alice..."
"I know."
"Some are taking more time than others, but they are honoring their obligations. Quite frankly, Garland's position is contemptible."
"So what do we do, Andy?"
"I'd like to give them till the end of the month. If they don't settle by then, we'll have to bring suit."
"The end of the month," Alice says.
"Yes. I'll call them again on June first. Does that sound okay to you?"
"I suppose."
"We'll get the money, I promise you."
"I hope so."
"I promise."
"Okay, Andy, thank you. We'll talk soon."
"I'll let you know the moment I hear anything."
"Thanks, Andy."
"Talk to you later," he says, and hangs up.
She holds the receiver in her hand for a moment, and then puts it back on the cradle, and suddenly she is weeping. She yanks a tissue from the box on her desk, blows her nose, and dries her eyes.
Well, she thinks, the first day of June is less than three weeks away, and I've certainly got enough in the bank to last me till then. But I don't know what to do after June first, because by my calculation the account will be getting very low by that time. I suppose I can always get a job waitressing, she thinks, but that would mean having to pay Rosie even more than I'm paying her now. But at least I'll have a steady salary and tips, and I wouldn't have to count on commissions. So far, there has been what one might call a dearth of commissions. So far, the commissions have totaled zero, nada, zilch.
She picks up the phone again, dials her home number, and waits. Rosie Garrity picks up on the third ring.
"Glendenning residence," she says.
"Rosie, hi, it's me."
"Hello, Mrs. Glendenning, how are you?"
"Fine, thanks. Everything okay there?"
"Yes, fine. What time is it, anyway?"
"A quarter to one."
"Good. I want to bake a pie before the kids get home."
Rosie comes in at noon every weekday, in time to clean the house and put it in order before the children get home at two-thirty, three o'clock, depending on traffic. By the time Alice gets home at five, Rosie has everything ready to put up for dinner. Rosie works full-time on Saturdays and Sundays, a broker's busiest days.
"Did you see the chicken I left in the fridge?" Alice asks.
"Yes. Will you be wanting the spinach, too?"
"Please. And if you could get some potatoes ready for browning."
"Sounds good. Can you stop for some ice cream on the way home? Go good with the pie."
"What kind of pie?"
"Yum. I'll pick some up."
"See you later."
It is almost one o'clock.
She decides to go to lunch.
Grosse Bec is a man-made island that serves as a luxurious stepping-stone between the mainland and Willard Key. If Cape October can claim a Gold Coast shopping area, the so-called Ring on Grosse Bec is it. The rest of the town is all malls. Alice's office is on Mapes Avenue, just off the circle that serves as Grosse Bec's center.
She is just crossing Founders Boulevard, familiarly called Flounders Boulevard by the natives, when she hears a horn blowing, and then the squeal of brakes, and then a woman's voice shouting, "Oh God!" She whirls in time to see the red fender of a car not six inches from her left hip. She tries to spin away again, too late, and then thrusts both hands at the fender in desperation, as if trying to push it off her, away from her. Bracing herself for sudden impact, she feels the bone-jarring shock of metal against flesh, and is suddenly hurtling backward off her feet, landing some three feet away from the car's right front wheel. She feels agonizing pain in her left leg, tries to twist away from the pain, and then does in fact twist away from the car itself, as if it were still a menace.
"Oh God, are you all right?"
The woman is crouched beside her now. Alice looks up into an elegant face, long blonde hair trailing on either side of it, blue eyes almost brimming with tears.
"Are you okay?" the woman asks.
"No," Alice says.
The woman's looming face vanishes. Alice hears a car door opening. Then some clicking and beeping sounds, and then the woman's voice again.
"Hello," she says, "there's been an accident."
She is talking into a cell phone.
"Can you send an ambulance, please?"
The ambulance gets there some five minutes later.
The police still haven't arrived by the time the paramedics load Alice and drive off with her.
The emergency room doctor at October Memorial tells Alice she's broken her left ankle. He tells her he will put her foot in a so-called cuff cast, which will look like an oversized white ski boot. He assures her she will still be able to drive because all she needs for the accelerator and brake pedals is her right foot. He tells her walking will be awkward and cumbersome, but he doesn't think she'll need crutches. He is smiling as he tells her all this. He seems to think she is very lucky.
It takes an hour and twenty minutes for them to clean the wound, and dress it, and put her foot and ankle in the cast. It is almost three o'clock when she limps out of the emergency room. Cumbersome and awkward is right.
The woman who knocked her down is waiting there for her.
"I'm Jennifer Redding," she says, "I can't tell you how sorry I am."
Alice guesses she is a good ten years younger than she herself, twenty-four or -five, in there, a willowy blonde wearing tight white bell-bottom pants with a thirteen-button flap like sailors used to wear, or maybe still did; Alice hasn't dated a sailor since she was nineteen. The pants are riding low on Jennifer's hips, a short pink cotton sweater riding high. In combination, they expose a good four inches of firm flesh and a tight little belly button as well.
"I'm glad you're here," Alice says. "I never got your insurance information."
"Why do you need that?"
"Well, there's been an accident..."
"There must be a card in my wallet someplace."
"Didn't the cops ask you for it?"
"What cops?"
"At the scene."
"There weren't any cops."
"Didn't you call the police?"
"No. Was I supposed to?"
Alice suddenly realizes she is talking to a ditz.
"Didn't anyone call the cops?"
"What for? The ambulance came, you were already gone."
"I hate to break this to you," Alice says, "but if you drive away from the scene of an accident, it becomes a hit-and-run. If I were you..."
"But I wasn't running from anything. I drove straight here to the hospital. To see how you were."
"The police may look at that differently. Get on your cell phone again, dial 911, and tell them -- "
"Is it broken?" Jennifer asks, looking down at the cast.
"Yes, it's broken."
"I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't have come around that corner so fast. There's a stop sign there. You should have at least slowed down."
"I did. But you walked right into the car."
"I what?"
"You seemed to be in some kind of a fog."
"Is that what you're going to tell the cops? That I was in some kind of a fog?"
"I'm not going to tell the cops anything."
"Well, I am," Alice says.
"Because I've had experience with insurance companies, thanks. And there are going to be hospital bills, and I want to go on record about what happened here. Especially if you're going to claim I was in a fog and walked into your car."
"I even blew my horn at you. You just kept walking."
"Jennifer, it was nice of you to come here, really, but I am going to report this to the police. You'd be smart to call them first. Otherwise you might find yourself facing criminal charges."
"Oh, don't be silly," Jennifer says. "Have you got a ride home?"
"No, but I'll call my office. My car's -- "
"I'd be happy to give you a ride."
Alice looks at her.
"My car's at the office," she says. "On Mapes Avenue. If you can take me there..."
"Oh sure," Jennifer says, and grins like a kid with a lollipop.
She doesn't get back to her house on the mainland until almost four that afternoon. She has extracted from Jennifer the promise that she will call the police, but she is eager to call them herself as well. She knows all about claims. She has filed enough insurance claims since Eddie drowned.
North Oleander Street resembles a jungle through which a narrow asphalt road has been laid and left to deteriorate. A sign at the street's opening reads dead end, appropriate in that North Oleander runs for two blocks before it becomes an oval that turns the street back upon itself in the opposite direction. Lining these two short blocks are twelve shingled houses with the sort of glass-louvered windows you could find all over Cape October in the good old days before it became a tourist destination for folks from the Middle West and Canada. The houses here are virtually hidden from view by a dense growth of dusty cabbage palm and palmetto, red bougainvillea, purple bougainvillea, white bougainvillea growing in dense profusion, sloppy pepper trees, pink oleander, golden allamanda, trailing lavender lantana, rust-colored shrimp plants, yellow hibiscus, pink hibiscus, red hibiscus, eponymous bottlebrush trees with long red flowers -- and here and there, the one true floral splendor of Cape October, the bird-of-paradise with its spectacular orange and bluish-purple crest.
Rosie Garrity greets her at the front door.
Round-faced and stout, in her fifties, wearing a flowered housedress and a white blouse, she glances down at Alice's foot, shakes her head, and says, "What happened to you?"
"I got run over," Alice says.
"Is it broken?"
"The ankle, yes. Where are the kids?"
"I thought maybe you'd picked them up."
"What do you mean?"
"They weren't on the bus."
"Oh dear," Alice says. "Was there a mix-up again?"
She limps into the kitchen, takes the phone from its wall bracket over the pass-through counter, and dials the school's number by heart. Someone in the administrative office picks up on the third ring.
"Pratt Elementary," she says.
Unless a kid is lucky enough to get into Cape October's exclusive public elementary school "for the gifted," officially called Pratt by the school board but snidely referred to as "Brat" by the parents of children who have not passed the stringent entrance exams; or unless a kid is rich enough to afford one of the area's two private preparatory schools -- St. Mark's in Cape October itself, and the Headley Academy in nearby Manakawa -- then the elementary school educational choices are limited to three schools, and the selection is further limited by that part of the city in which the student happens to live. Jamie has not spoken a word since his father drowned, but he and Ashley are bright as hell, and after the family moved down here both kids passed Pratt's entrance exams with ease.
"Hi," Alice says, "this is Mrs. Glendenning. Did my kids get on the wrong bus again?"
"Oh golly, I hope not. Which bus were they supposed to be on?"
"Harry Nelson's."
"Let me see if I can reach him."
There is a silence on the line. Rosie raises an inquisitive eyebrow. Alice shrugs. She waits. The voice comes back on the line again.
"Mrs. Glendenning?"
"Harry says they didn't board his bus. He thought you might've picked them up."
"No, I didn't. Can you find out which bus they did board?"
"It might take some time to reach all of the other drivers. I got lucky with Harry."
"Last time, they called me from Becky Feldman's house. They got off there when they realized they were on the wrong bus. Would you know which route that might be?"
"I can check. Why don't you call the Feldmans meanwhile? I'll get back to you."
"Thanks," Alice says, and puts the phone back on its hook, and then opens the Cape October directory and looks under the F's for Feldman. She thinks Becky's father's name is Stephen, yes, there it is, Stephen Feldman on Adler Road. She dials the number, and waits while it rings once, twice, three times...
She can hear children's voices in the background.
"Hi, this is Alice Glendenning."
"Oh, hi, how are you?"
"I don't suppose my kids are there again, are they?"
"No, they're not," Susan says. "Did you misplace them again?"
"It would seem so. I don't suppose I could talk to Becky, could I?"
"Just a second."
She hears Susan calling her daughter to the phone, hears Becky approaching, hears her picking up the receiver.
"Hi, Becky, this is Ashley's mom."
"Oh, hi, Mrs. Glendenning."
"Did you happen to see Ashley and Jamie after school today?"
"No, I din't," Becky says.
"Getting on one of the buses maybe?"
"No, I din't."
"Okay, thanks a lot."
"Did you want to talk to my mom again?"
"No, that's okay, thanks, Becky, just tell her bye."
"Okay," Becky says, and hangs up.
Alice replaces the phone on the wall hook. It rings almost instantly. She picks up.
"Mrs. Glendenning?"
"This is Phoebe Mears at Pratt?"
"Yes, Phoebe."
"I checked with the loading area guard. Man named Luke Farraday. He knows both your kids, says somebody picked them up after school."
"What do you mean, somebody picked them up?"
"Around two-thirty, yes, ma'am."
"Well...who? Who picked them up?"
"Woman driving a blue car, Luke said."
"Picked up my kids?" Alice says.
"Woman in a blue car, yes, ma'am."
"I don't know anybody with a blue car," Alice says.
"What is it?" Rosie asks.
"Is he still there? The guard. Luke Whoever."
"Farraday. No, ma'am. I reached him at home."
"Well, I...can you let me have his number, please?" She listens as Phoebe reads off Farraday's number, writing it onto a pad on the counter. "Thank you," she says. She puts the phone back on its cradle, hesitates for a single uncertain instant...
"What is it?" Rosie asks again.
...and is reaching for the phone again when it rings, startling her.
She picks up the receiver.
"Hello?" she says.
A woman's voice says, "I have your children. Don't call the police, or they'll die."
There is a click on the line.
Alice puts the receiver back on the cradle. Her hand is trembling. Her face has gone pale.
"What is it?" Rosie asks.
"Someone has the children."
"Oh my God!"
"She told me not to call the police."
"A woman?"
"A woman."
"Call them anyway," Rosie says.
"No, I can't."
"Then what...?"
"I don't know."
The house seems suddenly very still. Alice can hear the clock ticking in the living room. A big grandfather clock that used to belong to Eddie's mother.
"A blue car," she says. "A woman driving a blue car."
"Call the police," Rosie says.
"No. Do you know anyone who has a blue car?"
"No. Call the police."
"I can't do that! She'll kill them!"
"Did she say that?"
"What else?"
"Nothing. Nothing. She just hung up. Oh my God, Rosie, she's got the children!"
"What'd she sound like?"
"I...I don't know. A woman. I..."
"White? Black?"
"I don't know. How can anyone tell...?"
"Everyone can tell. Was she white or black?"
"Black. Maybe. I'm not sure."
"How old?"
"In her thirties maybe."
"Call the police. Tell them a black woman in her thirties has your kids. Do it now, Mrs. Glendenning. A bad situation can only get worse. Trust me on that."
"I can't take that chance, Rosie."
"You can't take any other chance."
The women look at each other.
"Call them," Rosie says.
"No," Alice says.
"Then God have mercy on your soul," Rosie says.
Alone in the house now, Rosie gone in a flutter of dire predictions, Alice first begins blaming herself. I should have bought Ashley the cell phone, she thinks, and remembers her daughter arguing like an attorney for the defense.
"But, Mom, all the girls in the fifth grade have cell phones!"
Oh, sure, the same way all the girls in the fifth grade are allowed to wear lipstick and all the girls in the fifth grade are allowed to date, and...
"No, Ashley, I'm sorry, we can't afford a cell phone just now."
"But, Mom..."
"Not just now, darling, I'm sorry."
Thinking now, I should have bought her the phone, how much would it have cost, anyway? If Ashley had a cell phone, she'd have called me at the office before getting in a car with a strange woman -- what on earth possessed her? How many times had Alice told them, her and Jamie both, never to accept anything from a stranger, never, not candy, not anything, never even to stop and talk with a stranger, certainly never to get in a car with a stranger, what was wrong with them?
No, she thinks, it isn't their fault, it isn't my fault, it's this woman's fault, whoever she is, this woman driving a blue car, do I know anyone who drives a blue car? She tries to remember. She's sure she must know someone who drives a blue car, but who remembers the color of anyone's car unless it's yellow or pink? A blue car, she thinks, a blue car, come on, who drives a blue car, but she can't think of a single soul, and her frustration leads once again to unreasoning anger. Anger against herself for not having bought the goddamn cell phone, anger at her children for getting into a car with a strange woman, but especially anger at this undoubtedly crazed person, whoever she is, this woman who probably has no children of her own, and who has now stolen from Alice the only precious things in her life, I'll kill her, she thinks. If ever I get my hands on her --
The phone rings.
Alice picks up the receiver at once.
"Hello?" she says.
"Mrs. Glendenning?"
The same woman again.
"Yes," Alice says. "Listen, Miss -- "
"No, you listen," the woman says. "Don't interrupt, just listen. We want a quarter of a million dollars in cash. Hundred-dollar bills. Get the money together by noon tomorrow. We'll call again then. Get the money. Or the kiddies die."
And she hangs up.
Alice puts the receiver back on the wall hook, and stands silently at the kitchen counter for what is perhaps thirty seconds. Then she reaches for the phone again, and immediately calls Charlie Hobbs.
Copyright © 2005 by Hui Corp.
Excerpted from Alice in Jeopardy by Ed McBain Copyright © 2005 by Ed McBain. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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I have been reading McBain since the early 60's and he is the only (and I mean only) writer who is so consistent. Once you pick up this book,you can't put it down. I love his writing and the story is not as important as the consistently excellent writing which captures you from the first page and doesn't allow you to close the book until it's done. For anyone who loves to read, McBain's books are a must.
Eight months ago, Alice Glendenning lost her husband in a boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Alice and her two children are grieving and not doing well financially. Alice isn't sure how she is going to pay the bills as she is trying to jump-start a career in real estate. Then things get much worse one afternoon when the kids don't come home from school. After a promising start, things deteriorate, and the book ends up being just mediocre.
From the first page, I couldn't put this book down. What a great story...kept me guessing with each new development. Although I started to surmise what was really going on, I was very surprised with the ending. Anyone interested in a thoroughly enjoyable, fast-read, will love this one.
I was disappointed in this book, and it was difficult to believe Mr. McBain wrote it. Sloppy editing, unbelievable dialog, and boring.
At first I was reluctant to read this story because it wasn't about the 87th squad, but I took a chance on it and I enjoyed it. It kept me going until the end, I was trying to figure out suspects myself, thinking I knew who was doing this...the end surprised me a bit, but I had a slight hunch about who was behind it. Great Work
Months after her husband disappears at sea, a Florida soccer mom's two kids are grabbed with a demand for $250K. Breezy storytelling guided by McBain's tough-as-nails voice makes for an enjoyable read.
Eight months have passed since stockbroker Eddie Glendenning drowned off of Cape October on the Florida Gulf Coast. His wife Alice struggles to raise their two preadolescent children as her income dwindles to almost nothing while the life insurance company ¿eternally¿ processes her claim........................... As her bank account is almost empty, Alice unsuccessfully tries to sell real estate. Just when she thinks she is one step from bottoming out, she finds the chasm underneath her feet goes much deeper than she ever imagined. Her two children have been abducted by two people demanding a $250,000 ransom of which she can emit payment in the low four digits unless they accept credit; if she talks to the police, the kidnappers warn of dire consequences. Before Alice can decide what to do Rosie the housekeeper calls the cops. Suddenly Alice feels that she fell through the rabbit hole, as law enforcement, family members, friends, strangers, and other ilk turn her home into a three ring circus.............................. Whether it is a police procedural or a thriller, no one consistently does it better than Ed McBain does (almost feel sorry for the rest). His latest tale is terrific, hooking the audience from the start as Alice, already struggling for her and her children to survive while also mourning her loss, suddenly finds she falling through a rabbit hole. The story line is action-packed with a fabulous cast especially the heroine, but also humorous as everyone wants to assist (this reviewer kept thinking of Groucho Marx¿s ship cabin scene in A Night at the Opera. Bottom line is that Mr. McBain does it again with his latest triumph.......................... Harriet Klausner


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Welcome to Goodspanner - Tyre and Service Centres
At Goodspanner service centre we pride ourselves on "re-inventing the wheel" in every aspect of our business. We spend a large amount of our efforts in always driving our level of customer service, our workshop efficiency and internal education to ensure we have the fastest and most affordable option for our customers. Goodspanner is proud of having reached the high standard of being recognised by all factory manufacturers, as an approved alternative for all your servicing needs. We can even maintain your factory warranty.
Customer communication is extremely important to us at Goodspanner. We strive to make our customers feel involved in the process and also that 100% understand what we are doing to their vehicles and the costs involved.
Tyre Centre Brookvale
192 Harbord Road, Brookvale NSW 2100
Phone (02) 9905 4330
Email [EMAIL]
Mon - Fri: 8am - 5pm
Sat: 8am - 3pm
Sun: CLOSED
Service Centre Brookvale
206 Harbord Road, Brookvale NSW 2250
Phone (02) 9939 4330
Email email@example.com
Mon - Fri: 8am - 5pm
Sat: CLOSED
Sun: CLOSED


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The Best Dwight Yoakam Movies
List Rules Vote for your favorite
List of the best Dwight Yoakam movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. Dwight Yoakam's highest grossing movies have received a lot of accolades over the years, earning millions upon millions around the world. The order of these top Dwight Yoakam movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Dwight Yoakam movies will be at the top of the list. Dwight Yoakam has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Dwight Yoakam movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Dwight Yoakam films to end the squabble once and for all.
If you think the best Dwight Yoakam role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest Dwight Yoakam performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.
Items here include everything from Dwight Yoakam: Just Lookin' for a Hit to Land of Canaan."This list answers the questions, "What are the best Dwight Yoakam movies?" and "What are the greatest Dwight Yoakam roles of all time?"


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As a builder, there's not much David Meakin doesn't know about houses. So when he discovered a redundant farmhouse, he thought it a renovation opportunity not to be missed.
In just nine months David converted the stone-built property into a fantastic home which enjoys a rural setting near the town of Hexham.
He has shared Peel Flatt in Slaley with his wife Elizabeth and dogs, Perdy, Lisa and Robyn, for the past seven years. The house has a wealth of luxury features ranging from the traditional to the modern.
The original farmhouse, according to David, housed a family of 13 during the 1930s. David said: "I was attracted to the site because of the lovely countryside and fantastic views. It's rural but not remote and Slaley is a very friendly place."
Peel Flatt is approached along a private driveway surrounded by grazing paddocks and leading to a car park. The beautiful country residence includes a central reception hall leading to the drawing room. This light and spacious room has an original stone inglenook fireplace and overlooks the courtyard.
The kitchen is an attractive feature of the house. There is a four oven Aga, waste disposal and plumbing for an icemaking refrigerator. Features include a beech timber floor, twin walk-in pantry cupboards and a stable style door leading to the rear stables and courtyard.
The sun room has a beech floor, exposed stone walls, arched window and open ceiling.
"My favourite rooms are the kitchen and the sun room. They are nice, airy rooms with a traditional appearance and wonderful views," said David.
There is a well-equipped study, ideal for those working from home, a sitting room with brick chimney breast, rear hall and utility room.
On the first floor, a gallery landing leads to the master bedroom suite which includes an en-suite bathroom. There are four further bedrooms, shower room and family bathroom.
A covered stone portico leads to the garage and tack room with Belfast sink. Outbuildings include a workshop with wc, four stables and a hay barn.
David said: "The house has four acres of land and stables, so it would be great for someone who keeps horses."
There is a large lawned garden enclosed by a stone wall and stone flagged terraces. The land is divided into three grazing paddocks, all supplied with water troughs and mixed shelter belts.
David and Elizabeth are moving into another property in the area but will miss the house dearly.
"I will miss the open aspects of the house and the views. It's a traditional house with all the mod cons, which someone could move into without having to do any work. It would suit a range of buyers from young and retired couples to families."
Peel Flatt is for sale from Clark Scott-Harden, Hexham, with a guide price of £625,000, tel (01434) 605 441.


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Here's a very different take on the intersection of activism and art. Protesters aligned with Occupy Wall Street disrupted an art auction at Sotheby's, because the company has locked out its art handlers in an attempt to shrink its numbers of unionized workers and curtail benefits — despite record profits. As reported on truth-out.org, a number of activists stood up during the auction and shouted out facts about this unjust lockout, before being escorted out of the building.
Most of the organizing discussed on this site sees art as a vehicle for marginalized voices and social change. But Sotheby's represents the other side of the art world, and this dispute reminds us that art is not inherently disruptive or radical — it all depends on how it is made and, in this case, how it is understood, bought, and sold. Whatever the original artists had in mind, in the context of Sotheby's corporate auctions, which sell art to the very rich for extremely high prices, art becomes a commodity and an integral part of both economic and cultural hegemony. Sotheby's, along with many museums and other elite institutions, takes part in defining what is art, what is "high" art, and what that means in our dominant culture. Art becomes merely a status symbol, part of the cultural capital that seeks to separate classes in our society.
These activists, along with the Teamsters who represent the art handlers, are engaging the economic side of the art world. But spaces like Sotheby's are also potentially rich sites for cultural organizers who want to disrupt and challenge dominant ideas of what is art and who is an artist. I could see some very creative arts-based actions being taken around auction houses and similarly elite arts spaces. How might we reframe (pun intended) how these spaces and the art within them are understood?


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This article is a player character biography page for Marcor of Moon Guard US
The contents herein are entirely player made and in no way represent official World of Warcraft history or occurrences which are accurate for all realms. The characters and events listed are of an independent nature and applied for roleplaying, fictional, speculative, or opinions from a limited playerbase only.
Harold Marcor is a strange figure. He is taller than is average, standing roughly 6'5" high, though his height is often concealed by a hunched posture. Marcor is broad of shoulder and yet thin to the point that he seems as though any strong breeze might whisk him away. Further, his hands are overly large and his fingers end in sharpened bone claws more similar to a beast's talons than any human digits. He is swathed in thick robes and a heavy cloak, the hood pulled up to hide his face from casual inspection. While these proportions would suggest a more comedic characture of a mage, the effect is quickly ruined when one catches glimpse of the visage which peers from beneath that hood, for from those dark and heavy folds stare a face from nightmare, a hideous and grim rictus of charred flesh, dried tendons and bone, empty eye sockets alight with unnatural flames. What little flesh that is not concealed by his robes is similarly charred. His movements are vastly far swifter and more agile than his state of preservation implies.
Marcor as curious and frightening a sort as his visage would suggest. His moods are for the most part unpredictable, being possessed of a malevolent joviality one moment and vengeful hatred the next. He further possesses a habit of alternating between brooding silence and loud speech, such being littered with grim puns and morbid commentary and is also given to laughing at strange intervals in a hoarse and hideous manner which is more indicative of a death rattle than of any sort of expression of mirth.
Harold Marcor is in all likelyhood not a product of the Lich King's plague. Harold himself has made passing mention that his condition is the result of other magics, though the nature of such is as yet unknown. He rarely speaks of his past prior to joining the Forsaken, though such scant commentary as has been recorded suggests that his state of undeath predates the Scourge Invasion. Marcor has on more than one occasion made allusions to a little known cabal of necromancers, elemental mages and politicians that existed 50 years prior to the First war. Lack of surviving documentation makes verifying any of Marcor's stories impossible, though he seems to possess information regarding the cabal that only a member, or an enemy, of the cabal would know.
Harold was discovered wandering the Plaguelands setting fire to various mushrooms, ruins and small animals. He was approached by the Forsaken, and found to be intellegent but uncooperative. After being subdued with some difficulty, He was brought before Sylvannas for judgement. The details of this meeting are unrecorded, but the result was that a somewhat less uncooperative Marcor joined the ranks of the Forsaken.
Goals and motivationsEdit
Marcor's only known motivation seems to be the pursuit of destruction; and everything he does, from seeking knowledge and power to the aiding the Horde, is geared solely toward that end. He rarely seems to make any long term plans, though will occasionally become obsessed with some bit of esoterica to the point where he will seclude himself and begin formulation intricate schemes, a pursuit which rarely lasts more than a few days before he returns to his seemingly random campaign of destruction.
- Harold has no respect for life or property, and will frequently resort to unnecessarily extreme measures in order to achieve even the simplest of tasks.
- While frequently abrupt when addressing stangers, Marcor can be quite eloquent when he wants to be.
- Marcor is obcessed with fire and flame related imagery.
- Marcor's understanding of recent events seems to be limited at best. He speaks of events from the past few years as though reciting from a history book, yet he can describe very vividly the politics and events of fifty years ago.
- Marcor speaks a language called Ixanh. It's origins are unknown, though it contains a few elements of Zandali and Thallassian.
Public knowledge and rumorsEdit
- Marcor is rumored to be under the effects of a geas or some other strong magical compulsion.He makes infrequent mention to "that which binds me", and has claimed to be unable to lie or directly harm "those who serve of the Forsaken". The exact limitations to which Harold is tied are unknown, though he seems to have spent a great deal of time attempting to test the geas' limits and find loopholes in it.
- Marcor's loyalty to the Forsaken and the Horde is at best questionable.
- Marcor is originally from Stromgarde.