102 Days to Opening Day 2008

Opening Day 2008 for the Timber Rattlers is April 3. That is 102 days from today. This off-season, the countdown will be based on books. Each day between now and Opening Day 2008, I will pick a random book out of my library and excerpt a passage off the page number corresponding with the number of days remaining to the first pitch of the new season. I will try not to repeat a book during the countdown.

Today’s excerpt is from A Certain Justice by P.D. James. This is an Adam Dalgliesh novel. Dalgliesh is a commander of a Special Investigation Squad for Scotland Yard in London. Dalgliesh is not in this excerpt, but the future murder victim is.

“Isn’t that a little unjust? Why should she want to hurt you? She could be genuinely fond of him.”

“For God’s sake, Drysdale, be realistic. Besotted maybe. Intrigued perhaps. Liking the spice of danger – I can understand that, he is dangerous. But what about him? You’re not telling me that Ashe is in love, and after three weeks. This is deliberate, and one or both of them engineered it. It’s directed against me.”

“By Ashe? Why should it be? I’d have expected him to be grateful.”

“He isn’t grateful and I don’t expect or want his gratitude. I want him out of my life.”

Drysdale said quietly: “Isn’t he rather more in Octavia’s life than yours?”

“I’ve told you, this is nothing to do with Octavia. He’s using her to get at me. They’re even thinking of going to the press. Can you imagine that? A sentimental picture of them in the Sunday tabloids with his are around her. ‘Mummy Saved My Boyfriend from Prison. Top QC’s Daughter Tells the Story of Their Love.’”

“She wouldn’t do that, surely?”

Put today’s excerpt in a baseball context.