"The Bargeman's Silence"

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At fifty-two, Hanna Croft is one of the most respected barge captains on Thornwick's canals—twenty-four years commanding *The Steady Hand*, a reputation built on competence and reliability. She's spent her whole life believing that if she provides, protects, and solves problems, that's the same as love. It's made her successful. It's made her alone. When cargo begins vanishing from locked barge holds on certain routes and certain nights, the pattern suggests inside knowledge—and the suspicion is tearing the barge community apart. Hanna's own cargo has been hit twice, damaging the reputation she's spent decades building. Worse, her estranged daughter Liss was the one who discovered the theft pattern and reported it to dock authorities. Now Liss is being blamed as a traitor to the community, and Hanna must choose: protect her standing among the captains, or stand with the daughter who left her four years ago. The investigation forces mother and daughter to work together for the first time since Liss walked off the barge at sixteen. As Hanna traces the thefts through lock schedules and cargo manifests, she begins to see what she's missed: Liss has built a life, proven herself capable, earned respect—and she's profoundly lonely, mirroring exactly what Hanna taught her. Old Caro, a retired captain who watches the barges from his bench, warns Hanna of what she'll become if she doesn't change. The mystery has an answer. The harder question is whether Hanna can learn the difference between being needed and being wanted—before it's too late.