Color of Lies: Generations of Secrets, Book 2

In the Skagit River Valley—gateway to the Pacific Northwest wilderness—vegetation, birds, and people are inexplicably dying. Does the river carry pollutants from illegal waste sites? One elderly bully’s spiteful lies have trapped her victims in a toxic web: • JoAnne, a former World War II pilot, is wheelchair-bound from a youthful accident involving sinister secrets. • Maria, JoAnne’s niece and professional pilot, masks the unresolved pain of childhood abandonment. • Spencer, a young organic vintner, suspects the rich valley soil has been polluted by undocumented wastes. • Russell, a spunky 95-year-old ham radio buff, intercepts curious messages that provide clues to the decades-long cover-up. Lies, even the little white lies told to protect themselves and each other from the past, suddenly conspire against them as the valley’s dangerous secrets unravel. JoAnne, who had adopted the troubled teenager Maria, calls her niece home to help investigate the mysterious die-offs. As JoAnne, Maria, Spencer, and Russell unofficially collect information, all clues point to Molly _____, an elderly local landowner with a longstanding grudge against JoAnne. The four gradually piece together evidence that Molly has blackmailed officials and intimidated locals while snapping up foreclosed farms and making a fortune by illegally accepting toxic waste to bury in the valley. Knowing that an official investigation might never get off the ground, they recruit JoAnne’s former fellow pilots, as well as a younger generation, to converge on the annual Concrete Fly-In, mapping suspicious dump sites from the air. Meanwhile, personal and family secrets, entangled over the years with Molly’s schemes, are seeing the light of day, forcing some difficult recognitions: JoAnne must confront Molly’s role in the accident that crippled her and cost her a marriage with the man she loved. At this late stage in life, is forgiveness and a second chance for love possible? Maria must face an imminent reunion with her older sister, who fled the domestic violence of their alcoholic family and left Maria “abandoned” when Molly stole letters meant for Maria. Spencer must adjust his image of an adored great-uncle who may have been involved in the cover-up while he worked with a secret government program to treat toxic waste. And Russell must keep the lines of communication open between the various players, while grieving anew for his beloved wife who may have been an early victim of Molly’s toxic waste seepage into local food sources. As all the players converge on the Skagit Valley for a final confrontation and call to action for a cleanup, Molly lies seriously ill in the hospital, ironically struck down by her own lies and poisons. Healing can now begin, as her victims face hard truths in order to halt the accumulation of more than one kind of toxic behavior. Color of Lies is a story of challenge and triumph over demons both personal and environmental, inviting us to explore with its characters the nature of truth, trust, and accountability.