“Tucson?” Superstition croaked, vaguely remembering what the highway patrolman had mentioned before her brain turned into a road flare.
“Yeah. That’s where the medevac took Derek after he was-”
She held up her hands.
If he didn’t finish, it couldn’t be true.
My very first thank-you goes to Michaela Hamilton, my remarkable editor at Kensington Publishing Corp. She saw the story I wanted to tell and cleared the trees to get me to the forest. If you enjoyed this tale of derring-do, it’s in no small part from her skill and patience.
Next I want to thank my tireless agent, Bill Contardi of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, and my showstopping publicist, P.J. Nunn of Breakthrough Promotions. Your long hours and large enthusiasms on my behalf are noticed, and a joy.
Then come the many folks who help me understand the world Emily Thompson inhabits, from police operations to criminal intent to firearms to medicine to psychology to newborn children to underground gasoline tanks and the trucks that fill them. They are Chief David Dial and Sergeant Elizabeth Brantner Smith of the Naperville Police; Chief Raymond McGury of the Bolingbrook Police; Roy Huntington, editorial director of American Cop magazine; Dr. Barbara Emery-Stolzer, MD; Sharon Rymzsa, RN; Lisa Gray, LCSW; Susan Siy, LCPC; Joseph Altier, general manager with BP Products North America; manuscript whisperers Bill and Jan Page; my fellow authors at International Thriller Writers Inc., particularly the extraordinary Gayle Lynds, who continues to offer such selfless support; and Victoria Lynch, Pat Ghent, Doris Blechman, David Robinson, Kendra Panek, and Julie Hyzy.
I must not forget Dave Smith, Raimondo “Ray” DeCunto, and Jim Glennon, the pros from Calibre Press. They invited me to participate in their two-day “Street Survival” seminar, which teaches cops around the nation how to win against the most murderous criminals society can offer. Their hospitality is greatly appreciated, and their theories infuse Emily’s approach to her work.
And finally, to novelist Scott Turow, whose crucial early advice gave me the direction I needed to transition from newspaper journalist to fiction writer. I wish you good cheer and many thanks.