An autopsy, truth be told, is never a party you want to be invited to, but Dr. Lanie Parish down at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner makes that basement room as close to upbeat as it can be without, well, waking the dead.
My mother, Martha, is equal parts consternation and inspiration and neither of us would have it any other way. My daughter, Alexis, continues to outshine her ol’ dad at every turn. She needs to knock that off. Smarty! (Next book, I’m having her write this section!)
Pardon me while I clang a spoon on my glass in celebration of the amazing Nathan, Stana, Seamus, Jon, Molly, Susan, Tamala, and Penny.
The folks in the Clinton Building at Raleigh Studios also get a smart salut! Hey, it just occurred to me, I could turn this toast into a swell drinking game.
Terri Edda Miller, you intoxicate me simply by being near. Hand in hand, arm in arm, onward—together. Always.
To you, Jennifer Allen. My eyes mist over, and I think of Hemingway, who said, “It is the journey that matters, in the end.” Our lovely ride continues with all commas in place and accounted for.
Thanks to Laura Hopper, Executive Editor at Disney Publishing Worldwide, Kingswell, and to Lisa Schomas and her terrific support team at ABC for success built on amazing cooperation and forethought.
My agent, Sloan Harris at ICM Partners, has always made sure my glass is half full, and I am grateful for his belief in me from the start.
Will Balliett, Gretchen Young, and Elisabeth Dyssegaard also deserve a clink and a sip for this little experiment that could.
Ellen Borakove continues to provide ace technical assistance for all things OCME. Additionally, I got amazing help from Monica Smiddy, M.D., forensic pathologist, New York City.
Shamus Smith, NYPD, not only provided a trove of background and technical assistance, but come on—a cop with a name like Shamus helping with a detective story? How could I go wrong?
Thanks to Jacqui Rivera for the introduction to Shamus, and to Joe Murphy, the pride of Melbourne, for logistical and research assistance. And, year after year—ever astute, ever faithful, ever enterprising—Cooper McMains, thank you for your cherished assistance.
If ever I thought someone was invaluable to a project it would certainly be David Liske, CEO, CPE, ACTAR, and a Principal Associate with LISKE Consulting Group Forensic Professionals. David most generously gave me hours of his time and whole sections of his brain as I researched this book. Whatever I got right about vehicle crash forensics and reconstruction, credit David. Whatever I got wrong, that would be on me.
Also, I got lots and lots of help from the New York Public Library, so special shout-outs (Ssssssh!) go to Research Community Manager Carolyn Broomhead, PhD, and Reference Librarian Jay Barksdale for research assistance, as well as the writing space accommodation in room 228E, “The last quiet place on earth.”
John Parry once again came through with perfect Upstate recon, including actual GPS location scouting for the Triplex.
Alton Brown, no cutthroat he, not only came up with the Jameson punch recipe, but sweated the detail of finding one that could be served chilled for a summer wedding, not the traditional warm one.
My friend Jill Krementz would have indeed shot Pulitzer-quality wedding photos, and I thank her for that. And a fist bump to my pal Ken Levine, who always reminds me at the start of each book that a murder might not be a bad idea.
And now, I’ll refill the glass for this one, because it’s a huge thank-you: Andrew Marlowe, you took a castle and made it Camelot. ’Nuff said? Never enough. Consider me an author whose best words would only be inadequate.
And, Tom, what can I say…? Except that I’m still living up to that nom de plume award. Maybe not as cool as getting one from Michael Connelly, but I guess it was a start.
RC
May 12, 2015, 2:34 A.M.
New York City