Oh, my god. A horrifying thought suddenly formed in Vail’s mind: Had Mayfield killed Robby? Did Lugo help him? Is that what Ray was talking about? Is that what Mayfield meant? ‘There’s more to this.’ Am I going to find Robby dead in some vineyard, missing the second toenail on his right foot?
Dixon looked at Brix. “Did he say, ‘disc’? What disc?”
Vail grabbed Lugo’s wrist and felt for a pulse. She looked away. Brix did the same, but nothing needed to be said. Everyone in the van knew that Lugo was gone.
Brix’s phone buzzed. He looked down, glanced at the display. “Ambulance is en route with Mayfield.”
“Still alive?”
He reread the text message. “Barely. Probably not going to survive the ride.”
Vail slumped back against the van wall, her head and shoulders bouncing with the bumps in the road. Brix had his bloody hands on his face, elbows on his knees. And Dixon just sat there, staring at Lugo, at the man she had known for so long. Yet hadn’t known at all.
The van pulled into the ER parking lot and stopped with a lurch. They didn’t move. The back doors swung open. Two hospital personnel in scrubs peered in and apparently read their body language. “Is he gone?” one of them asked.
“Gone,” Brix said.
“You sure?”
“I fucking know when a cop’s dead. Now close the goddamn door and leave us alone.”
The van was dark again, save for the parking lot light filtering through the tinted rear windows.
They sat in silence until Vail’s phone vibrated. And vibrated. She ignored it. Seconds later, it vibrated again.
It pulled her back to rational thought. With blood-smeared hands, she reached for the BlackBerry. Put it against her ear. “Yeah.”
“Karen, it’s Bledsoe. I checked everything. Airports, flights. Credit cards. Car rentals, hotels, area hospitals, morgues, police and sheriff departments in a hundred mile radius. I can’t be totally sure because it’s the middle of the night, but I came up empty. I got nothing. There’s no sign of Robby.”
Vail dropped the phone to her lap. Bledsoe was still talking, but it didn’t matter. His words resonated and repeated in her head: There’s no sign of Robby.
Exhausted, famished, emotionally drained, and covered in a dead man’s blood, she closed her eyes.
And she cried.
A NOTE FROM ALAN JACOBSON
I know, I know . . . I left a few loose threads hanging on this garment. Fear not, they will be tied together, neatly trimmed or tucked away in the next Karen Vail novel.
Go now (yes, now) to www.crush.alanjacobson.com for a short video featuring yours truly discussing the ending to Crush. But that’s not all—you’ll also find a few other surprises there. See you soon.
—ALAN
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I could not have written this novel with the accuracy and credibility I strive for without the assistance and cooperation of the following professionals:
Senior FBI profiler Supervisory Special Agent Mark Safarik (ret). Mark, now Executive Director of Forensic Behavioral Services International, started as a vital resource fifteen years ago and became a close friend. His knowledge and expertise in the field of criminal investigative analysis is tops among his peers. I value his friendship, his input, our discussions, and his detailed and critical review of the manuscript.
Senior FBI profiler Supervisory Special Agent Mary Ellen O’Toole (ret). Mary Ellen provided key information regarding her experiences dealing with narcissistic serial killers, including their offender character traits, crime scene behaviors, and the interview techniques she has used with them. Moreover, the stories Mary Ellen shared with me over the years relative to her long career in the profiling unit helped me understand Karen Vail’s challenges and opportunities.
Sergeant Matt Talbott, St. Helena Police Department. Matt was my first law enforcement contact in the valley. He helped orient me as to the Napa County Major Crimes Task Force and its makeup, operations, procedures, and background, as well as the various policing and jurisdictional nuances of the Napa Valley.
Captain Jean Donaldson, Napa County Sheriff’s Department. Jean not only gave me a comprehensive tour of the Sheriff’s Department facility, including the morgue, task force conference room, and all points in between, but he graciously answered my unending follow-up questions about department procedures and operations.
D. J. Johnson, Assistant Director of the Napa County Department of Corrections. D. J. took me on a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes tour of the Napa County Hall of Justice, particularly the jail and court-house, and provided detailed explanations of the Department of Corrections’ operational procedures.
David Pearson, CEO of Opus One Winery. David assisted me with understanding appellations, AVA associations, their boards, and the politics that permeate the wine-growing regions. A longtime wine industry veteran, David took me on a fascinating personal tour of Opus One, and subsequently reviewed pertinent portions of the manuscript for accuracy.
Tomás Palmer, Senior Security Program Manager at Microsoft. Tomás provided detailed explanations regarding embedded data in Office documents—and kept it on a level a nonprogrammer could comprehend. During our ongoing exchanges of information and “what if” scenarios, I found Tomás to be a creative and outside-the-box thinker—an invaluable resource to a thriller novelist. He also reviewed relevant sections of the manuscript to make sure I didn’t mangle what we’d discussed.
James Patton, Deputy Director of Global Trade Compliance at Microsoft. Jim ran point, putting me in touch with Tomás and arranging mind-blowing behind-the-scenes tours of the Microsoft campus facilities, which included a fascinating look at the company’s cutting edge research. In addition, thanks to Bryan Rutberg, Director of the Redmond Executive Briefing Center and Dominic Trimboli, Group Manager Executive Briefings, for showing me around the Executive Briefing Center and teaching me how to use the Surface computer.
Jonathan Hayes, a senior forensic pathologist in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City, and a clinical assistant professor at NYU School of Medicine. Jonathan, author of the thriller A Hard Death, provided information on body decomposition and advised me on the drug BetaSomnol. Before I start receiving emails due to concern over conveying actual dosages about real pharmaceuticals, it was best to invent a drug—no harm in a little creative license—and get on with the story. Both Jonathan and I will sleep easier.
Amanda Montes, Translations Switch Technician for CellularOne Arizona. Amanda provided information regarding text messaging, storage, law enforcement standards, access, and terminology.
Senior Special Agent Susan Morton, of the Arizona HIDTA (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area), and Law Enforcement Specialist Marybeth McFarland, at the National Park Service’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area, for background on the complex jurisdictional issues relative to the park. As the fictional SFPD inspector said, you really do need a map and scorecard to keep it straight!
Jeffrey Jacobson, Esq., former prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney, current Associate General Counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association . . . and my brother. Jeff answers my procedural questions when pesky legal issues interrupt the telling of my stories.
Jeff Ayers, author, librarian, media escort, friend. Jeff connected me with James Patton, and shuttled me around Seattle like a pro.
Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer, for timely assistance with the Zodiac case. Greg Miller, for a primer on appellations, AVAs, Napa politics, and police jurisdictions.
Roger Cooper, my publisher. I’m extremely fortunate to have the ongoing opportunity to work closely with Roger. His forty years in publishing are an invaluable resource; more than that, however, Roger is a visionary, a tireless worker, and someone who has earned my limitless respect. I am guided by his insight and knowledge.
Georgina Levitt, Vanguard Press associate publisher, and Amanda Ferber, publishing manager. Georgina
and Amanda are my lifelines throughout the publishing process. It is truly a pleasure to work with two very professional, efficient, and special individuals.
Peter Costanzo, Vanguard’s director of online marketing, for producing such a fine and functional web site; and the entire Vanguard sales force and production staff, who busted their tails behind the scenes to assemble a first-class product—and then get it sold into the stores.
Kevin Smith, my editor. Kevin and I are of like minds when it comes to suspense. He understands my characters and what I am trying to accomplish with each novel. For Crush, his vision and astute observations helped me find that razor’s edge.
Laura Stine, my project editor. Laura is the embodiment of dotted i’s and crossed t’s. With so many moving parts at the production end of publishing a novel, it’s essential to have a chief at the helm making sure the hard work gets packaged into a polished final product.
Anais Scott, my copy editor. There are an unfathomable number of details to keep straight across four hundred pages, and having someone trolling my sentences with Anais’s extraordinary attention to detail is vital.
Jen Ballot, my publicist. Jen did an unbelievable job setting up a successful, aggressive, and full-scale book tour in the most challenging retail and promotional environment in decades.
Joel Gotler and Frank Curtis, my agents. As fortunate as I am to have Roger Cooper as my publisher, I’m equally as blessed to have two agents with the decades of experience Joel and Frank possess. They have freed me to think less about the business of rights, subrights, and contracts—and more about creating unique stories and characters.
Gil Adler and Shane McCarthy, the producers who bought the film rights to The 7th Victim and my (eventually) forthcoming novel, Hard Target. They have made my first Hollywood experiences special, memorable, and enjoyable. I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with in this process.
Jill, my wife, best friend, and editor. I’ve joked that there’s a lot of me in Karen Vail . . . but there’s also a fair amount of Jill in Karen Vail. Jill’s influence is felt throughout the manuscript, not just from our trips to (and experiences in) the wine country, but also behind the scenes, in her critical review of the story and characters. She has put up with me being sequestered in my office toiling away at these pages all day and night, and well into the morning hours. Thanks for being patient.
To my readers . . . Thanks for your support, for spreading the word about “Alan Jacobson” to friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues, book clubs, and bloggers. My promise to you is that I will always try my best to entertain you with unique characters and interesting stories. Come out and see me sometime at one of my signings. I’m here for you.
Thanks, as well, to those who went above and beyond to help sell my books: Nanci Gill, Carey Pena, Gretchen Pahia, Larry Comacho, Dave Anderson, Helen Raptis, Leslie Martin, Kelly Jackson, Dan Elliott; Marianne McClary, Nick Toma, Mark S. Allen; Bill Thompson; Tom Hedtke, Beth O’Connor, Vicky Lorini; Colleen Holcombe; Jeff Broyles; Terry Abbott; Pam Chadwick, Doran Beckman; Mary Ann Diehl; Judy Wible, Jackie Kelly; Gunjan Koul; Douglas Thompson; Jean Coggan, Kristine Williams; Shana Pennington-Baird; Russ Ilg; John Hutchinson, Virginia Lenneville; Ruth and Jon Jordan; Alex Telander; Jared Martin; Debbie White, Alison Meltcher; Torey Harkins; Jeff Bobby; Joel Harris; J. B. Dickey, Maryelizabeth Hart, Terry Gilman, Patrick Heffernan; Joan Hansen; Bobby McCue, Linda Brown, Pam Woods, Kirk Pasich; April Lilley, Christine Hilferty; Lorri Amsden; Jeffrey Jacobson; Corey Jacobson; Russell and Marion Weis; Marci and Paul Ortega; Len Rudnick; Wayne and Julia Rudnick; Marc Hernandez, Ronny Peskin; Marc Benezra (fifty times over); Bill Kitzerow (you da man!); Mikel London, Tim Murphy, Dennis Hoover; John Hartman; Perry Ginsberg; Florence Jacobson; Pete Bluford; Andrew Gulli; Art O’Connor; Sarie Morrell; Anthony and Herta Peju, Peter Verdin, Katie Lewis, Stacee Cootes, Alan Arnopole, Robert Sherman, Helena Frazier; Micheal Weinhaus; C. J. Snow; Aaron Matzkin; Heather Williams; Mike and Betsy Schoenfeld; Josh and Debbie Sabah; Dena Benezra; Richard Grossman; Mimi Graham-Rose; Susanna Yao.
Author’s note: For obvious reasons, some of the locations mentioned in the novel are fictitious; many, however, are real. For those of you visiting the region, stop by the real wineries and restaurants mentioned in Crush for some world-class Napa Valley wine (for a list of these wineries, wines, and restaurants, visit www.crush.alanjacobson.com).
I’ve attempted to ensure accuracy—but despite my best efforts, it’s likely I’ve blown some fact somewhere among these four hundred pages. This is not a function of the aforementioned esteemed professionals I consulted, but rather my own error. If I unwittingly omitted anyone from the acknowledgments, please forgive me.
ALAN JACOBSON is the national bestselling author of the critically acclaimed thriller The 7th Victim, which was named to Library Journal ’s “Best Books of the Year” list for 2008. Alan’s years of research with law enforcement, particularly the FBI, influenced him both personally and professionally and have helped shape the stories he tells and the diverse characters that populate his novels.
Both The 7th Victim and one of Alan’s forthcoming thrillers, Hard Target, are currently under development as major feature films with an A-list Hollywood producer.
Visit Alan at www.AlanJacobson.com.
For more information on Crush, visit www.CrushNovel.com.
Copyright © 2009 by Alan Jacobson
Sherlock Holmes quotes used with permission of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate
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eISBN : 978-0-786-75148-8
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