Mary Jane Clark - When Day Breaks

For Margaret Ann Behrends,
honor student, homecoming queen, weathergirl,
talk-show host, television producer, animal lover,
communicator, humanitarian.
Happy birthday, dear sister, happy birthday to you!

And for all those who struggle with Fragile X syndrome,
with the persistent hope that a cure is near.

Heres a real treasure. The animal-shelter attendant pointed at the

The morning rush was on.

I need this job, whispered B.J. DElia.

Stuart Whitaker adjusted his black-framed eyeglasses as he stared with

Traveling down the West Side Highway, Eliza stared out at

Faith stuffed the sheets into the washing machine, added detergent,

Give Boyd a call, will you please, Paige? Eliza asked

Why was it, Boyd Irons wondered, that whenever Constance bossed

Eliza made sure to give herself enough time to get

As soon as the guests took their seats at the

Constance arrived at her country house as the sun was

The pool lights flickered and then went off, but there

Saturdays were busy at the Cloisters. On a hill overlooking

The little girls in red-and-white uniforms were gathered at the

The sound of the hooves as they pounded the soft

As soon as she arrived at the Broadcast Center, Eliza

By two oclock scores of visitors had gathered in the

Whats worse? Faith wondered. Would it be worse to have

Jason Vaughan sat on his couch staring at the television

Engrossed in thoughts about what had happened to Constance, Eliza

As the Saturday-afternoon visitors were milling through the halls of

A string of vans, cars, and satellite trucks with New

Getting increasingly closer to deadline, Lauren found fault with every

The five oclock news blared from the radio in the

B.J. waited until Laurens piece had been fed from the

At 6:57 P.M., during the commercial break, a medium-height, redhaired

As soon as the broadcast was over, Lauren tore down

The report on the Evening Headlines meant that it was

The kids were already fed, bathed, and in their pajamas

When the phone was answered, the sound of dogs barking

Eliza was still asleep when Janie came cautiously into the

Sipping a cup of coffee, Vinny Shays leaned on his

B.J. sat in his car eating a jelly doughnut and

Trying to keep the packages and newspapers balanced in his

The Hvizdak family lived in a thirteen-thousand-square-foot French ch\a226teau-style home

Once the search-engine page was on the computer screen, URSULA

Faith stole in through the garage door, hoping she wouldnt

The assortment of news vans and crew cars that crowded

Back at the Broadcast Center, Eliza went to her office

While the roast beef sat in the oven and got

After spending the better part of Sunday afternoon in the

Like more than 40 million other Americans, Eliza switched back

In, out, pull. In, out, pull.

As soon as her twins were out the door and

Near the end of KEY to America, Harry Granger, with

It was early, but already the bouquets of flowers were

As she stepped into the elevator, Eliza didnt know how

Paige was waiting when Eliza reached her office.

Annabelle came into Elizas office and held out the report.

The Great Dane lay on the examining table. Before he

The police called Constance Youngs assistant, wanting to know if

Mr. Welles? Mr. Graham Welles?

Oh, my God, youre not going to believe this, guys,

The detectives entered the office building of Whitaker Medieval Enterprises.

Just after five oclock, Jason pushed the buzzer and waited

The KEY Evening Headlines began precisely at 6:30 P.M. At

Watching and listening to Eliza Blake, Ursula knew what she

A microchip in the Great Dane. Who could have anticipated

It was a balmy evening, and Eliza and Mack walked

The heavy rain fell steadily as the taxicabs and limousines

O God of grace and glory, we remember before you

A candle burned in front of the brass box that

Faith stood at the back of the funeral home, shaking

The rain had let up, but as the mourners filed

What luck! It couldnt have worked out any better than

The windshield wipers flipped from side to side as Eliza

Eliza had been back in her office at the Broadcast

Im telling you. I have no clue how it got

I talked to my police source, said Annabelle, plopping down

Before she left for the day, Lauren marched into Linus

Ethan had forgotten his calculator when he was over the

Washing her supper dishes in the tiny kitchen, Ursulas hands

Two men stood outside on the New York City courthouse

The minute the broadcast was off the air and the

A call ahead of time to the Dropped Stitch Needlecraft

After a nearly sleepless night, Faith got out of bed,

Stuart felt for his glasses on the nightstand and put

In her dream Eliza felt the warmth of another body

Painfully early in the morning, Boyd found himself waiting in

The owner of the Dropped Stitch Needlecraft Shop parked her

When Eliza arrived at the Broadcast Center, she met up

The Associated Press local wire broke the story first, and

Waiting in the lobby for B.J. to bring the car

Rowena Quincy was on the phone in her office at

There were no more loose ends.

KEY News wasnt the first on the scene at the

Her head ached as she pushed the vacuum cleaner around

As soon as they got back to the Broadcast Center,

This is The KEY Evening Headlines with Eliza Blake, the

The car pulled up to the entrance of the Cloisters.

Some doctors took Wednesdays off, but Margo Gonzalez worked all

During the cocktail hour, many people came up and introduced

Annabelle had just scooped out some frozen yogurt for the

Eliza escaped to a secluded corner, pulled the cell phone

It was growing dark as Stuart Whitaker walked with Faith

Eliza checked her watch. It was almost time for the

With the twins finally settled into bed and Mike at

It was almost nine oclock when Eliza took the podium.

B.J. finished his beer, paid the bill for his dinner,

Eliza stood with Rowena Quincy next to the unicorns display

B.J. stared at the screen studying Ursulas poem until he

Eliza tried to leave the reception, but she was stopped

Annabelle went in to check on the twins. They were

Eliza found Linus and introduced him to Stuart Whitaker. Then

And listen to this, said Annabelle. Over the phone she

By the time Eliza finished speaking to all the people

After repeatedly calling Elizas cell phone and getting no response,

Wow. Its beautiful up here," said Eliza as she stood

The Cloisters security guards combed the museum looking for Eliza

The skirt of Elizas dress rustled in the evening breeze

The car sped up the West Side Highway. B.J. wove

Lauren looked down at the wounds on her open palm.

By now B.J. had joined the search.

Lauren closed in, the syringe in her hand.

Good morning, Eliza Blakes voice welcomed the television audience. Its

H eres a real treasure. The animal-shelter attendant pointed at the small, sad-eyed beagle who peered out of the cage. Shes a sweet little thing, but she still doesnt know what hit her. Her elderly owner died, and nobody in the family wanted to take her.