A Penny for Your Thoughts

A P
ENNY

FOR
Y
OUR

T
HOUGHTS

MINDY STARNS

CLARK

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version
^®
. NIV
^®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

The author is represented by MacGregor Literary.

Cover photos © mattesimages / Fotolia; vespasian / Alamy; Cover illustration © Gregor Buir

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Copyright © 2002 by Mindy Starns Clark
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-2956-1

The Library of Congress has cataloged the edition as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clark, Mindy Starns.

A penny for your thoughts / Mindy Starns Clark.

p. cm. —(The million dollar mysteries; 1)

ISBN 978-0-7369-0992-1

1. Woman lawyers—Fiction. 2. Nonprofit organizations—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3603.L366 P46 2002

813'.54—dc21

2002005633

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 / LB-MS / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For John, my husband and best friend. Thank you for sharing the dream, every single step of the way.

Acknowledgments

“Thank you” seems inadequate, but I have to try. So,
thank you!!!

…to my husband, John Clark, J.D., C.P.A, for helping with every part of this work—from the original concept to advising me on legal and financial matters in the nonprofit world to editing with the skill of a master. This book literally wouldn’t exist without you!

…to my editor, Kim Moore of Harvest House Publishers, for opening the door and pulling me through into the amazing world of Christian publishing; and to my agent, Frank Weimann, for making the connection.

…to my father, Robert M. Starns, M.D., for medical information, clarification, and imagination.

…to my mother, Jackie Starns, for extensive proofreading (and cheerleading!).

…to my dear friend and research assistant, Shari Weber.

…to the best group of readers in the world: Alice Clark, Jennifer Clark, Mary Davison, Lucille Dickerson, Kim Farr, Kay Justus, Arline King, Shirley Morris, Dolores Perla, Suzanne Scannell, and Roberta Sullivan.

…to all who filled in the gaps of my knowledge: David Clark, Joyce Hammel, Eileen Hosgood, Mark Lampton, Sal Mannino, David Starns, Joey Starns, and so many others that I could fill this book with your names. You know who you are: Thank you!

…to fellow writers who willingly shared the wealth of their experience: Jeremiah Healy, for valuable instruction on creating a series character; Anthony Bruno, for an encouraging critique and review; and all of my lovely, ever-helpful Sisters in Crime.

…to Church of the Saviour in Wayne, PA, for biblical guidance, theological clarification, and support.

…to my “e-mail posse,” that long list of folks to whom I send out all kinds of questions in the middle of the night and they reply with clever, delightful answers and suggestions. Friends, I couldn’t do it without you.

Finally, to my fabulous daughters, Emily and Lauren, for your constant love and support—and for giving mom “just five more minutes” at the computer. You’re the best!

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

1 T
HESSALONIANS
4:13-14

Contents

Acknowledgments

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Six

Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Nine

Thirty

Thirty-One

Thirty-Two

Thirty-Three

Thirty-Four

Thirty-Five

Thirty-Six

Thirty-Seven

Thirty-Eight

Thirty-Nine

Forty

Forty-One

Forty-Two

Forty-Three

Forty-Four

Forty-Five

Forty-Six

Forty-Seven

Forty-Eight

Forty-Nine

Fifty

Fifty-One

Fifty-Two

Fifty-Three

Fifty-Four

About the Author

Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark

About the Publisher

One