Guideposts – August 2019

52 GUIDEPOSTS (^) | August 2019
CO
UR
TE
SY
GE
RI^
CH
RIS
TE
NS
EN
I’d enjoy that,” she said. “What do you
have in mind?”
“Maybe a ‘cozy’ murder mystery?” I
said. “Something with no graphic vio-
lence, like the Miss Marple books.”
And just like that, we began working
on a mystery called Crime Will Tell. We
used our hometown of Provo as the set-
ting but called it Farhaven. Our main
character was a bookstore owner and
sleuth named Emmalyn Partridge.
I would write a chapter, and then at
Great China, over lo mein and moo goo
gai pan, Sara and I would take turns
reading it aloud and critiquing it.
After a raffle at the library, the rich-
est woman in Farhaven drives off a
cliff. The autopsy reveals a powerful
sedative in her blood. In the wake of
a potluck dinner, one of the attendees
dies of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Emmalyn and her best friend, Quincy,
have whittled down their list of sus-
pects when a third death occurs. Who
is killing the townsfolk and why? Will
Emmalyn and Quincy be able to crack
the case before someone else dies?
“It’s a good thing I’m a doctor by
profession,” Sara said. “If I weren’t, I
believe I could commit the perfect mur-
der!” She knew all about forensics, au-
topsies and poisons. “It doesn’t happen
the way it does on CSI,” she told me.
Sara was a master at making criti-
cal plot suggestions—and catching
mistakes. Mysteries are hard to get
right! With her head cocked to one
side, Sara would say, “Hmm, I don’t
think Emmalyn would be afraid of the
dark. That would inhibit her work as
a detective.” Or “I don’t think Emma-
lyn would say that. It’s not in line with
her personality. Why not have her say
this...?” My right-brain creativity and
her left-brain logic complemented each
other perfectly. We brainstormed like
gangbusters and finished the 300-page
manuscript in just a year and a half.
In the fall of 2016, Sara began using
a walker. She grew too weak to visit
our favorite restaurant anymore. That
didn’t stop us from working on our next
Emmalyn Partridge mystery, Once
Upon a Crime. I’d cook something and
bring it to Sara’s house, and we’d write
at her dining room table.
Amazingly, she rallied, as cracker-
jack as ever. Sara didn’t dwell on her
health. When I asked how she was feel-
ing, she steered the conversation back
to me: “How are you, Geri?” she’d ask,
barely able to catch her breath.
We managed to get through two re-
visions of the new book, but in August
2017, Sara hit her hand on a door frame.
The cut got infected. She was admitted
FAST FRIENDS Geri’s right-brain creativity
and Sara’s left-brain logic complemented
each other perfectly.
SPIRITUAL NOTEBOOK