In the Shadow of Truth

Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Sensitive content Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Author Notes About the Author Also by J.E. Leak Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Beginning About the Author Also by J.E. Leak 
 
 
 
 
 In the Shadow of Truth
 (Shadow Series Book 3)
 
 
 
 J.E. Leak
 
 
 
 Certifiably Creative LLC
 
 
 
 
 Copyright © 2023 by J.E. Leak
 All rights reserved.
 This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
 
 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
 
 
 ISBN 978-1-955294-05-8 (eBook Edition)
 ISBN 978-1-955294-06-5 (Paperback Edition)
 Library of Congress Control Number: 2022918952
 Edited by Pam Greer
 
 
 
 
 Published by Certifiably Creative LLC
 Ocala, Florida
 [email protected]
 
 
 First Printing January 2023
 
 
 
 
 To my wife.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sensitive content
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 1
 
 
 Chapter 2
 
 
 Chapter 3
 
 
 Chapter 4
 
 
 Chapter 5
 
 
 Chapter 6
 
 
 Chapter 7
 
 
 Chapter 8
 
 
 Chapter 9
 
 
 Chapter 10
 
 
 Chapter 11
 
 
 Chapter 12
 
 
 Chapter 13
 
 
 Chapter 14
 
 
 Chapter 15
 
 
 Chapter 16
 
 
 Chapter 17
 
 
 Chapter 18
 
 
 Chapter 19
 
 
 Chapter 20
 
 
 Chapter 21
 
 
 Chapter 22
 
 
 Chapter 23
 
 
 Chapter 24
 
 
 Chapter 25
 
 
 Chapter 26
 
 
 Chapter 27
 
 
 Chapter 28
 
 
 Chapter 29
 
 
 Chapter 30
 
 
 Chapter 31
 
 
 Chapter 32
 
 
 Chapter 33
 
 
 Chapter 34
 
 
 Chapter 35
 
 
 Chapter 36
 
 
 Chapter 37
 
 
 Chapter 38
 
 
 Chapter 39
 
 
 Chapter 40
 
 
 Chapter 41
 
 
 Chapter 42
 
 
 Chapter 43
 
 
 Chapter 44
 
 
 Chapter 45
 
 
 Chapter 46
 
 
 
 
 Author Notes
 
 
 About the Author
 
 
 Also by J.E. Leak
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sensitive content
 
 
 
 
 
 This novel contains flashbacks of war experiences. While it is not the central theme of the story, it is woven into the tapestry of the characters’ lives, and I am mindful that for many, such forewarning is appreciated.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter One
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 July 1943: Long Island, New York
 
 
 
 As a new field agent trainee, Jenny Ryan didn’t know what to expect when she arrived at the Office of Strategic Services training center on Long Island. A long gravel drive twisted through neglected grounds, now overgrown with wild blueberry bushes, pines, and oaks. The main house had fallen into disrepair and disuse, as the winds of fortune changed and heirs moved on to smaller dwellings, so the OSS used only a small portion of the mansion’s one hundred and ten rooms.
 They had built simple wooden structures as classrooms on the expansive grounds, and this is where Jenny spent her time. She’d come a long way from newspaper columnist, writing human interest stories and movie reviews at her uncle’s newspaper, to OSS field agent, but this is what she wanted—to do something important. Help win the war.
 She was excited, but nervous, knowing this class brought her one step closer to harm’s way. As an added complication, her lover, OSS agent Kathryn Hammond, stood six feet away, at the head of the class, looking disarmingly attractive in her olive drab slacks and matching collared shirt, with the top button modestly undone. She was a civilian, so she didn’t wear a uniform with insignia, but, mercy, it didn’t take away from the hypnotizing effect.
 “Any questions?” Kathryn asked, as she swept her eyes across the serious faces of the nine eager recruits in the class. There were ten in all, the tenth recruit less than serious, and, apparently, completely bored with the whole affair.
 Kathryn was teaching alternative ways to kill without the traditional instruments of death—the knife and the pistol, both of which were sitting on each recruit’s desk. Kathryn had just shown the class how to fold a newspaper into a knife and instructed them on how to stab it into the soft tissue under the chin, effectively dispatching the victim.
 Jenny found it fascinating and disturbing, but she noticed the slumping dope in front of her seemed less than impressed.
 He raised his hand to Kathryn’s query. “Have you ever killed anyone?”
 Jenny’s eyes snapped to her classmate in disbelief. She considered whapping the jerk on the back of the head with her OSS weapons catalog but thought that might be too obvious. It was clear he had no respect for Kathryn as an agent or as an instructor. She didn’t know who he was trying