Of Murder and Marigolds

"The death of those people has nothing to do with me!" Ellie Madsen longed to believe that, but what else could explain the attempts on her life? She was afraid, and though she knew the fear was separating her from a lost love, she was powerless to break free. It took the searing honesty of a desperately lonely teenager and the good sense of a maddeningly Irish priest to thrust her past her own emotional upheaval and into the cold light of reality. She wouldn't enjoy the fruits of the struggle, however, until she stopped trusting the one she wanted to love. If she faltered in this, she would die: it was as simple as that.