The Hiding Place
Page 30
After the program, Nick and his staff of four quickly headed out toward the academy to give tours while Tara and Claire held Danny’s hands and brought up the rear down the path. Nick had left Beamer with them; the dog trailed Danny faithfully as the boy kicked at leaves in his path.
“Excuse me, Mrs. MacMahon,” came a female voice behind them, “but can I have a word with you?”
Tara turned to see a slender woman—gaunt, actually, though beautifully dressed in a black business suit and heels with a plaid wrap around her shoulders. Her makeup was impeccable. She looked vaguely familiar, but Tara couldn’t place her.
“I’m sorry to bother you right now, but I have a question,” she said.
With that, Tara realized she was a reporter, Kara Jeffords, from one of the Denver TV affiliates. At least, she had no cameraman with her.
“I hope it’s about the clinic or the K9 academy,” Tara told her, gesturing for Claire to take Danny on ahead. “I’m pretty questioned out about my past.”
“No, this is personal. Not you—m-my past, my f-future,” she said, suddenly stumbling over her words. When she blinked her mascaraed lashes, tears flew. “My ex-husband didn’t bring my son and daughter back from his weekend visitation with them yesterday, and he’s—he’s gone somewhere—with them.” She burst into tears, covering her mouth with one hand studded with a huge diamond ring. “I just thought—I wondered…” she choked out. “I mean, he’s hiding somewhere with them—but…but I need them back, need to find them…”
Tara’s heart went out to the shattered woman. She put her arm around her and guided her off the path, saying her familiar mantra that now meant so much more than ever before. “I’ll do my very best to help you. And above all, please know that I understand.”
Author Note
I am often asked where I get my ideas for my novels. The answer is, from a variety of sources, and it’s amazing how they fit together in numerous ways to make a story. Sometimes I get ideas “off the page,” that is, by intentionally researching for them. But often I get them “off the wall,” or simply stumble on them.
My first germ of an idea for this book came from a series of articles in my home newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch, entitled ‘Snatchback’ system gives hope to a desperate mom (Aug. 6, 2006). Those articles were about a child who had been taken out of the country to the Middle East, but for me it opened the realm of those who trace and recover snatched children.
Another piece of the plot puzzle fit in place with the help of Dr. Roy Manning, longtime ob-gyn in Chillicothe, Ohio. I appreciate his research and that of his colleagues on pregnancy indicators of women who have given birth and on comatose birth. The online cases of comatose women delivering babies are true.
My third major idea for the novel, tracker and trailer rescue dogs, seemed to fit right in. I first got to know the wonderful work that Labrador retrievers do through my short story, “Find The Way,” for the anthology More Than Words (2006 edition), about a blind woman who learns to live a free life again with her companion dog, despite being endangered by a stalker. I was able to meet and observe several of the dogs trained by the excellent Puppies Behind Bars program (so-called because honor prisoners raise the puppies until they are ready to be trained). For information on that program, see www.puppiesbehindbars.com.
I also took two online courses from instructors who trace people for a living. Linnea Sinclair is a private investigator who answered many questions; Frank M. Ahearn is a skip tracer and a master at getting information through pretexting. Also, T. L. Gray’s information in her course on Delta Force was helpful. Any mistakes on these subjects are mine and not theirs.
As for a setting, the days that my husband and I spent in the area of Denver and Conifer, Colorado, with a drive through Black Hawk, were invaluable for creating the settings for the story. We had a lovely visit to the Red Rocks area; the idea that a person can push a boulder off a rock formation there is, I hope, a figment of my imagination. Thanks again to our niece and nephew, Heather and Jason Kurtz, for introducing me to Black Mountain and Shadow Mountain near their home in a beautiful spot at nine thousand feet, where elk and foxes stroll through the yard.
The settings in Washington State were inspired by my earlier trips to the Seattle area, which I also used for my romantic suspense novel, The Falls.
For background information from a woman’s point of view on majoring in social work and dealing with abusive family situations, I appreciate advice from Karen McGirty, a social worker. Her summary comment—“It was the best job and worst job I ever had”—gave me an important glimpse into my heroine’s psyche. For medical information on coma and drugs, thanks to Nancy Armstrong, R.N. I am also grateful to my author friend Susan Wiggs for her advice on Seattle neighborhoods.
As ever, thanks to my support staff at Mira Books, especially my editor Miranda Stecyk, for her wise guidance. To the Jane Rotrosen Literary Agency staff, especially Annelise Robey and Meg Ruley.
And always, my heartfelt appreciation to Don, travel companion extraordinaire, who even tolerated altitude sickness to research the mountain settings. Please visit my Web site at www.karenharperauthor.com.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-0541-6
THE HIDING PLACE
Copyright © 2008 by Karen Harper.
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