In the summer of 1944, Leslie Atwater -- feeling abandoned by his lover Edward -- rushes to London to enlist in the armed services. After failing the physical, he retreats to the sanctuary of St. Michael’s rectory and to the love and support of his brother Robert.<br><br>When a bomb explodes near St. Andrew’s Home for Boys, it unearths a skeleton of an adolescent. As Leslie, Edward, and Robert set about identifying the remains, the shocking discovery stirs up an old antagonism between the two brothers and brings to light a string of repressed memories for Leslie.<br><br>With the truth obscured by the passage of years, can Leslie and Edward sift through the lies and subterfuge to track down the coldhearted killer of a kindred spirit?

Kindred Spirit

“Thriving. He and Ilsa are practically attached at the hip. The Jenkins women watch over him like mother hens.”


“Well, we knew that would happen.” Then, “Oh, Lord!”


“I do, and if I didn’t love you so much, I’d be damned furious. Doing all this on your own and leaving the village so abruptly. But given the outcome of your exam—”


Leslie broke away from Edward’s arms. “My health exam?”


“How could you possibly…oh, your ties and connections. Is there any privacy in this world of ours?”


“Not much. You did leave me a short if cryptic note. You must have known I’d be angry. Thought we were over all this damn soldier boy silliness of yours. In the end, all it took was a call here and a word there and I knew you’d been disqualified.”


Leslie stood and walked over to the other side of the coffee table. He crossed his arms and glared at Edward. “Right. If it wasn’t for my messed up emotions, having my head on wrong—”


Chapter 9