Acknowledgments
It takes a village to make a book. In this case, it started with the village of Bragg Creek, Alberta. To the denizens of that lovely region, I apologize for the liberties I’ve taken with the geography, specifically adding that extra land at the western end of the Balsam Avenue bridge to build my dream arts facility on, and that massive hilltop estate looming above it. There’s no road up that rocky cliff and never will be, but I’ve imagined it for so long that its absence is always a shock when I cross the bridge. Apart from those amendments, I’ve tried to be true to the fabric and feel of your lovely wilderness community. I’m thankful so many familiar homes and businesses did recover from the 2013 flood, and I sure understand why every June there’s that communal breath-holding until the whole snowpack has come down peaceably.
Although it’s set on the edge of trackless wilderness, this book is at heart about relationships and, contrary to the image of the solitary author in their garret, the same is true of my writing life. The people who helped get my book from concept to publication are legion. Some have become long-term friends, from Fiona, my first crime-writing buddy, to Ilonka, my most constant one. Early encouragement and guidance flowed from Melodie Campbell, longtime point-person for Crime Writers of Canada (now retired). Cheryl Freedman and Caro Soles ran Bloody Words, the Canadian crime writers convention where I met so many generous authors. Phyllis Smallman, Peggy Blair, and D.J. McIntosh blazed a trail for me through the Debut Dagger contest, the Unhanged Arthur award, and the process of publication. Louise Penny cheered me on at the Debut Dagger and helped start the Unhanged Arthur contest that eventually brought my work before Dundurn’s editors, designers, and publicists, who are bringing it to you. My delightful agent, Olga Filina of The Rights Factory, came into my life through the good offices of mystery author Alex Brett. Generous authors who critiqued parts of this manuscript along its journey include Gail Bowen, Barbara Fradkin, Phyllis Smallman, and the late Lou Allin. Thank you all.
I’m grateful for the encouragement and wisdom of my Sisters In Crime, especially the Guppies, the Toronto chapter, and the new Canada West chapter. To my pals at Calgary Crime Writers, thanks for having my back. To my new pals at the Comox Valley Writers Society, thanks for welcoming me. Specific to police and paramedic procedures, I deeply appreciate the insights offered by a number of serving and past members of the RCMP and the Calgary Police Service (who prefer to remain nameless). Special thanks to fellow author and retired paramedic instructor Dwayne Clayden, B.H.Sc., M.E.M., for the accident-scene walkthroughs and many patient explanations. I’m grateful to Rosemary, in whose serene green winter home most of my writing happens.
More than anyone, I’m thankful for Kevin, who has driven and walked me around Bragg Creek dozens of times in the name of research, and who keeps my home fires burning while I wander in fictive dreams.
Mystery and Crime Fiction from Dundurn Press
Birder Murder Mysteries
by Steve Burrows
(Birding, British Coastal Town Mysteries)
A Siege of Bitterns
A Pitying of Doves
A Cast of Falcons
A Shimmer of Hummingbirds
A Tiding of Magpies
Amanda Doucette Mysteries
by Barbara Fradkin
(PTSD, Cross-Canada Tour)
Fire in the Stars
The Trickster’s Lullaby
Coming soon: Prisoners of Hope
B.C. Blues Crime Novels
by R.M. Greenaway
(British Columbia, Police Procedural)
Cold Girl
Undertow
Creep
Stonechild & Rouleau Mysteries
by Brenda Chapman
(First Nations, Kingston, Police Procedural)
Cold Mourning
Butterfly Kills
Tumbled Graves
Shallow End
Bleeding Darkness
Jack Palace Series
by A.G. Pasquella
(Noir, Toronto, Mob)
Coming soon: Yard Dog
Jenny Willson Mysteries
by Dave Butler
(National Parks, Animal Protecttion)
Full Curl
Coming soon: No Place for
Wolverines
Falls Mysteries
by Jayne Barnard
(Rural Alberta, Female Sleuth)
When the Flood Falls
Foreign Affairs Mysteries
by Nick Wilkshire
(Global Crime Fiction, Humour)
Escape to Havana
The Moscow Code
Coming soon: Remember Tokyo
Dan Sharp Mysteries
by Jeffrey Round
(LGBTQ, Toronto)
Lake on the Mountain
Pumpkin Eater
The Jade Butterfly
After the Horses
The God Game
Max O’Brien Mysteries
by Mario Bolduc
(Translation, Political Thriller, Con Man)
The Kashmir Trap
The Roma Plot
Cullen and Cobb Mysteries
by David A. Poulsen
(Calgary, Private Investigators, Organized Crime)
Serpents Rising
Dead Air
Last Song Sung
Strange Things Done
by Elle Wild
(Yukon, Dark Thriller)
Salvage
by Stephen Maher
(Nova Scotia, Fast-Paced Thriller)
Crang Mysteries
by Jack Batten
(Humour, Toronto)
Crang Plays the Ace
Straight No Chaser
Riviera Blues
Blood Count
Take Five
Keeper of the Flame
Booking In
Jack Taggart Mysteries
by Don Easton
(Undercover Operations)
Loose Ends
Above Ground
Angel in the Full Moon
Samurai Code
Dead Ends
Birds of a Feather
Corporate Asset
The Benefactor
Art and Murder
A Delicate Matter
Subverting Justice
An Element of Risk
Meg Harris Mysteries
by R.J. Harlick
(Canadian Wilderness Fiction, First Nations)
Death’s Golden Whisper
Red Ice for a Shroud
The River Runs Orange
Arctic Blue Death
A Green Place for Dying
Silver Totem of Shame
A Cold White Fear
Purple Palette for Murder
Thaddeus Lewis Mysteries
by Janet Kellough
(Pre-Confederation Canada)
On the Head of a Pin
Sowing Poison
47 Sorrows
The Burying Ground
Wishful Seeing
Cordi O’Callaghan Mysteries
by Suzanne F. Kingsmill
(Zoology, Mental Illness)
Forever Dead
Innocent Murderer
Dying for Murder
Crazy Dead
Endgame
by Jeffrey Round
(Modern Re-telling of Agatha Christie, Punk Rock)
Inspector Green Mysteries
by Barbara Fradkin
(Ottawa, Police Procedural)
Do or Die
Once Upon a Time
Mist Walker
Fifth Son
Honour Among Men
Dream Cha
sers
This Thing of Darkness
Beautiful Lie the Dead
The Whisper of Legends
None So Blind
Border City Blues
by Michael Januska
(Prohibition Era Windsor)
Maiden Lane
Riverside Drive
Coming soon: Prospect Avenue
Cornwall and Redfern Mysteries
by Gloria Ferris
(Darkly Comic, Rural Ontario)
Corpse Flower
Shroud of Roses
Copyright © J.E. Barnard, 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purpose of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.
All characters in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover image: ©istock.com/Oleh_Slobodeniuk
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Barnard, J. E., author
When the flood falls / J.E. Barnard.
(The falls mysteries)
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-4597-4121-8 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-4597-4122-5 (PDF).--
ISBN 978-1-4597-4123-2 (EPUB)
I. Title.
PS8603.A754W54 2018 C813’.6 C2017-907240-4
C2017-907241-2
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country, and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Government of Canada.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.
Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.
J. Kirk Howard, President
The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content unless they are owned by the publisher.
dundurn.com @dundurnpress dundurnpress dundurnpress
When the Flood Falls Page 33