by Christine G.

Created on: December 23, 2011

"I am being held hostage," Tess Monaghan whispered into her iPhone.  "By a terrorist.  The agenda is unclear, the demands vague, but she's prepared to hold me here for at least two months.  Twelve weeks or eighteen years, depending on how you look at it."

Tess is unexpectedly pregnant.  To make matters worse, she has been diagnosed with preclampsia.  She is supposed to keep as still as possible until she comes to term.  Suddenly, Tess is confined to a chaiselongue in her sun porch, depending on others to bring her gourmet food, comfort, and updates about investigations in progress.  Her participation is limited to internet searches, e-mail and phone calls.

Tess is 35, a journalist turned private investigator.  She lives for her work.  Her business is just taking off.  Tess had never considered the possibility of parenthood until one of her eggs fell prey to Crow's supersperm, despite all precautions.  How will she fit motherhood into her schedule?  A baby in a Snugli might be an excellent cover for surveillance work, but not so great when confronted by angry quarry with a tazer.

"Remember how you used to say you would love to take time off just to read and watch movies?" her partner Crow asks, bustling around the room like a masculine Martha Stewart.  He is delighted at the thought of being a father. 

Taking time off is easier said than done.  What can Tess do to make those endless hours pass?  She stares longingly out of the window at the dog walkers taking their charges to the park.  She used to be one of them, with her canines Esskay and Miata.

She notices a woman who has taken colour coordination to the next level.  Her celery-green raincoat matches her greyhound's jacket and leash.  Tess keeps watching through her binoculars, speculating what kind of person this might be, with her perpetual cell-phone conversations and impractical shoes.  Then, one day, the dog is running through the park alone, dragging his leash. 

Tess can't resist getting involved.  She sends her colleague Mrs. Blossom out to recover the dog and return him to his owner.  Unfortunately, the owner, Don Epstein, has no interest in getting him back.  Not only that, but he shows little concern for the fate of his wife Carole.  He claims she is on a business trip.  The more Tess digs into the case, the more suspicious the situation looks. 

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