Description of Landscape For Murder by Joyce Strand
A friend’s murder. An unconnected cast of suspects, including the victim’s missing adult daughter. As if that wasn’t enough, Brynn Bancroft’s winery has been broken into. Can she deal with her co-owner ex and help the police find her friend’s murder so she can finally overcome her own troubled past and enjoy family life with her teenage ward?
Excerpt of Landscape For Murder by Joyce Strand
Chapter 01
The sheriff’s patrol car annoyed Brynn Bancroft when it stopped in the narrow curve of the road next to her, and its driver put down his window. She had traveled more than an hour to her favorite meadow where she could sit at her easel and paint in solitude without interruption. She had just gotten started. She regretted not having walked further into the muddy field.
The uniformed driver, whose sandy hair was cut close, removed his dark glasses and said, “Hello. I’m Deputy Hallis from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. Sorry to hear about your friend.”
Brynn turned to face him, confused. She didn’t know him, nor had anything recently happened to any of her friends, as far as she knew.
He must have detected bewilderment on her face. He said, “Your artist friend. Haven’t I seen the two of you here painting when I’ve driven by on my way to town?”
Although perplexed by the interruption, Brynn understood that the intruder was referring to a fellow local artist she had befriended on former painting trips to the area. The two of them had sat together in this same spot.
Brynn said, “Why, yes, if you mean Kenneth Sterling. We often painted together. Is there a problem?”
“Yes, ma’am. Can you tell me your name, please? And where you are from?”
Brynn’s concern for her friend overcame her annoyance, and she answered, “My name is Brynn Bancroft. My ex-husband and I own the Hilltop Sunset Winery in Sonoma.”
“I see. And you came over here to paint with Mr. Sterling?”
“Yes. What is this about?”
The deputy hesitated briefly and then said, “I’m afraid your friend is dead.”
“What!? Kenneth is dead? How? He was fine just the other day.” Brynn stared at the deputy, who was watching her carefully.
“He was killed, murdered in his own home. We’d like to talk to you. Can you come into town to the sheriff’s office now to see our detective? We’d appreciate your cooperation.”
Brynn nodded. She knew Point Reyes well and enjoyed the scenic seaside area, which was why she traveled from her house in Sonoma to paint it.
He said, “Maybe your friend told you something that would help. We don’t get many murders up here.”
Brynn gazed back at the view she had been trying to capture. It didn’t relate to what the deputy was saying. She returned her attention to him and said, “I didn’t know. Thank you for telling me. I’ll check in with the sheriff.”
“OK, then. Our station is down past the creamery. Right next to the fire department. I’ll let the detective know you’re on your way.”
Brynn watched the deputy drive away. She took a deep breath, absorbing her view—one she’d spent a restful day or two painting alongside Kenneth Sterling—and then picked up her palette, canvas, tripod, and stool and loaded them into her blue Mercedes convertible.
Why would anyone want to kill the quiet, gentle elderly man who spent most of his time painting? He certainly didn’t appear wealthy, so money couldn’t be a motive.
She got into her car and drove toward the town center and to the Marin County Sheriff’s office. She walked into the shingled building and approached Deputy Hallis, still trying to comprehend what had happened. He escorted her to a table and asked her to sit. He returned in a few minutes with a tall, tanned muscular man dressed in slacks and pullover beige shirt.
“Ms. Bancroft? I’m Detective Springer. I understand you knew Kenneth Sterling.”
Brynn nodded. “Yes, sir. Not well, but we shared the same landscape.” Brynn smiled. “That’s how he referred to us. We sat together several times with our easels to paint that scene.”
Springer said, “I see. I thought maybe you were a model.”
Brynn stared at him. “Why would you think that?”
The detective looked embarrassed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. You’re just, well, striking with the blonde hair and all.”
Brynn smiled. “Why, thank you, Detective Springer. That’s nice of you to say.” Brynn prided herself on her intelligence rather than her attractiveness, but she appreciated the compliment.
The detective regained his composure and returned to a more officious approach. “Before we get to Sterling, maybe you could tell me more about yourself.”
“Of course. Again, my name is Brynn Bancroft. My ex-husband, Liam, and I own and operate Hilltop Sunset Winery in the Sonoma area.”
The detective nodded. “And you come over here to paint?”
Brynn smiled. “Yes. I find it relaxing to paint near the ocean. The past six months have been chaotic, to say the least. I was almost murdered—twice; and I got divorced, and—”
She pulled her attention back to the detective, who was asking, “I’d like to hear about that sometime. But right now, what can you tell me about Mr. Sterling?”
Brynn said, “He was certainly a far better artist than I. His technique was unique.” Brynn didn’t notice that she had rhymed, but the detective smiled slightly. “He could capture the emotion of a scene with—” Brynn interrupted herself. “Sorry, that’s probably not what you mean. He told me he was a retired CEO—or rather that he had quit working at his company after he found it not very rewarding.”
She hesitated, not knowing how much to tell the detective about her own life. She looked at him and said, “We related well, because I just quit my job as a chief financial officer at a Silicon Valley biotech company.”
“Do you know what changed his mind about being a CEO? Like was he caught doing something illegal?”
Brynn assumed that since he was a detective he had to explore different aspects of a victim’s life, but this seemed to Brynn like an unlikely direction. “As far as I know, it was not a specific incident. I assume for similar reasons as me. The corporate world is based on a motive of profit, not on helping humanity. That’s OK, because without them we wouldn’t have jobs. But after a while, you just want to say, ‘Enough.’ Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound preachy.”
About Joyce Strand
Mystery author Joyce T. Strand, much like her fictional character, Jillian Hillcrest, served as head of corporate communications at several biotech and high-tech companies in Silicon Valley for more than 25 years. Unlike Jillian, however, she did not encounter murder. Rather, she focused on publicizing her companies and their products. She is the author of the Jillian Hillcrest mysteries ON MESSAGE, OPEN MEETINGS, and FAIR DISCLOSURE, the Brynn Bancroft mystery HILLTOP SUNSET and the historical mystery, THE JUDGE’S STORY.
Strand received her Ph.D. from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. and her B.A. from Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA. She currently lives in Southern California with her two cats, a collection of cow statuary and art, and her muse, the roadrunner.
Giveaway of Landscape For Murder by Joyce Strand
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