“How about not?” Vail said.
“This isn’t something you should decide after what just happened,” Robby said. “You’ve got plenty of time to think it through. You’re a criminal justice major. That’s the right path if you want to carry a badge. That’s all you need to think about now.”
Jonathan nodded slowly. “Okay.”
But Vail could tell by the look on his face that he had just decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. She knew that look.
She knew it because she had seen it once before.
In the mirror.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Each novel presents unique challenges in telling the story. One constant, however, is my desire to “get it right”—or as close to accurate as is possible—and feasible, which is of course an important point: there are a million facts in each of my books, so it’s inevitable something is going to be wrong because no one can know everything about everything. Even with all the experts I consult during the course of my research, it’s impossible to fact-check every sentence, statement, or assertion. (That doesn’t stop me from trying.) There are also those rare times when I take some literary license for a variety of reasons—which, my editor reminds me, is perfectly acceptable because, after all, I do write fiction!
With that in mind, I’d like to acknowledge and offer my sincere thanks to these individuals, who greatly enhanced the reality I dream up in my head: Mark Safarik, FBI Supervisory Special Agent and senior FBI profiler (ret.) and principal of Forensic Behavioral Services International, spent hours with me discussing maximum-security prison procedures, FBI case management, crime concealment fires, and arson basics. In addition, he assisted me with the profiling and behavioral analysis nuances, including those involving homosexual offenders, sexual mutilators, and all the other goodies that go along with those pillars of society, serial killers. Brainstorming with Mark, whose law enforcement expertise extends well beyond profiling, was invaluable. As Mark knows, no detail is too small, and his fine-tooth review of the manuscript was extremely helpful in bringing to the pages the verisimilitude I always strive to achieve.
Micheal Weinhaus, Special Agent, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, wore several hats. Mike is a former Fairfax County police officer and served on the US Marshals Service’s Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF), so his stories, background, and fugitive hunting tips were invaluable. In addition, his intimate knowledge of the area helped me find proper locations for my action and characters, and his experience working with the Bureau of Prisons and its correctional facilities oriented me as to how an escape could occur and what would happen in its wake. Mike also schooled me on warrant procedures, helped me get the police procedure ballpark accurate, and he refreshed my memory of the Mason District station. As if that were not enough, his review of the manuscript and attention to detail helped me get it right.
David Diliberti, Deputy US Marshal and inspector on the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, was a wealth of information, recounting stories of the wild cases he has handled in his long career, instructing me on US Marshal fugitive task force procedures and the art of fugitive tracking, providing Bureau of Prison and correctional facility background, and sharing insider terminology and stories of what’s it’s like in the trenches of the job. He also related the nuances that exist in the relationship between members of the Marshals Service and the FBI. Last but just as important, he reviewed the manuscript to ensure I didn’t make any egregious procedural flubs.
Carl Caulk, Assistant Director, Office of Professional Responsibility, US Marshals Service, for his many hours of counsel and instruction on procedure. I first met with Carl back in 2003 when he was a Supervisory Deputy Marshal in charge of the fugitive squad in Phoenix. He gave me my first in depth look into the tough work this crucial arm of the Department of Justice does—and does very successfully—in apprehending dangerous offenders. Carl also gave me my first look into maximum-security prisons and how escapes are often perpetrated. I’ve carried that knowledge with me since then, and it served me well in Darkness of Evil.