Close to Home (The Tracy Crosswhite Series Book 5)

by Robert Dugoni

  While I don’t profess to know all about this mess, the substantial amount of information that I read in books and in newspaper and magazine articles, as well as conversations I’ve had with many intricately involved in treating those addictions, was sobering and frightening. I’d always believed heroin addicts were people living in rodent-infested apartments. The words that had the greatest impact on me during my research were those describing so many addicted as “good kids from good families.”

  Despite my best efforts, I’m sure I still made mistakes, and for those I take full responsibility. During the course of my writing career, I have become much like Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. I depend on the kindness of strangers, many of whom have become friends.

  My special thanks to Detective Ron Sanders, Seattle Police Department, Traffic Collision Investigation Unit. Ron walked me through working for the TCI, then helped me in particular with a hit-and-run scenario and the steps that might be taken to uncover the driver of the vehicle. The new technology is amazing, and it just keeps getting better.

  Two years ago I was teaching a class on novel writing on Whidbey Island and one of my students was Alexandra Nicca. “Nicca,” as we soon called her, had a unique and humorous way of looking at life in general and at particular incidents. I asked her what she did for a living and she advised that she was a lieutenant in the United States Navy, a Judge Advocate General. In short, that’s a military lawyer. Stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, Nicca arranged for me to tour the legal building, to sit in the courtroom, and to ask her hours of banal questions that likely threatened to put her to sleep. At the time I just thought she had a really cool job and wanted to learn more about it. At that point I had no novel in mind. As I started to put this novel together, I knew that others would also see her job as interesting and want to learn more about it. As I told Nicca, I have great respect for anyone who puts on the uniform to defend and serve this country, and that includes her. I am appreciative of her time and expertise.

  As with all the novels in the Tracy Crosswhite series, I simply could not write them without the help of Jennifer Southworth, Seattle Police Department, Violent Crimes Section, and Scott Tompkins, King County Sheriff’s Office, Major Crimes Unit. As I was writing this novel, Jennifer was working the night shift. I met her and Scott for dinner at Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub on the first floor of the famed Smith Tower. Not only did they educate me, I found another setting for several scenes in my novel, as well as an overall mood. It was cold and rainy that night, and I could only imagine what that must be like for the detectives called out to investigate a murder.

  My thanks also to Kathy Taylor, forensic anthropologist, King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Kathy is busier—as they say—than a one-armed paperhanger, yet she always manages to find time to answer my questions. In addition, I asked Kathy to read a scene from my novel for its accuracy. She did and she informed me that the scene indicating that the King County medical examiner had four heroin overdoses in a week was sadly unrealistic. The medical examiner often has four overdoses in a day, and the heroin epidemic is far worse than I had portrayed. As we writers well know, writing is rewriting, and I went back and made the changes.

  Thanks also to Eric Yurkanin of Max Technologies in Seattle. My knowledge of computers and computer systems extends about as far as my reach to my keyboard. I asked Eric many questions about security cameras, how they work, how they record, how long those tapes are kept, whether they could be copied. I appreciate his patient explanations. Over the years, I have learned that computers, like guns, have a rabid community that is just waiting for me to make a mistake so they can correct it. Some of these people are very kind and e-mail me. I appreciate their input and I keep every e-mail for future books. Others rip me all over the Internet. I don’t keep those. So let me just say, if I made a mistake, it was inadvertent and not because of a lack of effort. I’m open to an e-mail so that, hopefully, I don’t make the same mistake again.

  Thanks also to Dr. Scott Kramer, obstetrician-gynecologist. Scott helped me with the details of Tracy and Dan’s attempts to get pregnant, as well as all of the potential options and ramifications of each option. Scott is also my brother-in-law, and let me tell you, that man has cooked up some wicked Christmas dinners over the years. So you might say that I’m twice blessed to have him as part of the family.

  Thanks to Ms. Meg Ruley, Rebecca Scherer, and the team at the Jane Rotrosen Agency. They’ve been guiding me for my entire career, and at times I’m sure it felt like a parent guiding a teenager. I’ve had my ups and downs, but they’ve stuck by me through it all and kept me moving forward with relentless enthusiasm and optimism. I just can’t say thanks enough.

  Thanks to Thomas & Mercer. This is novel five in the Tracy Crosswhite series and my sixth novel with the team, but it never feels old. They’re always looking for new ways to promote my work and to get my novels into the hands of as many readers as possible. As an author, that’s all I’ve ever asked for, a chance to be read.

  Thanks to Sarah Shaw, author relations, who always makes me feel special. The post office has threatened to close my PO box if I don’t get down there and pick up all the packages she sends. These are terrific surprises, and my family and I greatly enjoy them.

  Thanks to Sean Baker, head of production, and to Laura Barrett, production manager. I’ve said this before, but I love the covers and the titles of each of my novels, and I have them to thank. Thanks to Justin O’Kelly, the head of PR, and to Dennelle Catlett, Amazon Publishing PR, for all the work promoting me and my novels. Thanks to publisher Mikyla Bruder, associate publisher Galen Maynard, and Jeff Belle, vice president of Amazon Publishing.

  Special thanks to Thomas & Mercer’s editorial director, Gracie Doyle. My novels usually start with a lunch with Gracie at which I say that I have a couple different ideas. Then I begin to lay out those plots. Gracie analyzes them and helps me find the plot with the most emotional bang. From there, I’m off to the races. When I’m done, Gracie is the first to read the novel and help me bring the idea to life. So, once again, thanks, Gracie, for your direction on the story, thanks for your editorial suggestions, and thanks for your friendship. I’m truly glad to have you leading my team.

  Special thanks to Charlotte Herscher, developmental editor. This is our sixth book together and she has made me infinitely better. At times I can hear Charlotte in my head asking for more character development and I try my best to heed that call because her advice is spot-on. Thanks to Sara Addicott, production editor, and Scott Calamar, copyeditor. When you recognize a weakness it is a wonderful thing—because then you can ask for help. Grammar and punctuation were never my strengths, and it’s nice to know I have the best looking out for me.

  Thanks to Tami Taylor, who runs my website, and creates my newsletters and some of my foreign-language book covers. I ask Tami for help and she gets things done quickly and efficiently. Thanks to Pam Binder and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association for their support of my work. Thanks to Seattle 7 Writers, a nonprofit collective of Pacific Northwest authors who foster and support the written word.

  Thanks to you, the readers, for finding my novels, and for your incredible support of my work. Thanks for posting your reviews and for e-mailing me to let me know you’ve enjoyed them—always a writer’s highlight.

  Special thanks to Bob Grassilli, Serra High School Class of 1966, and David Bakhtiari, Serra High School Class of 2009, for making generous donations to the Serra High School “Fund a Dream” program. One of the cool things I get to do is auction off the name of a character in my novels to raise money for worthy charities. Serra High School is my alma mater, and the “Fund a Dream” program raises money to provide scholarships to kids in need. Serra has produced notable alumni like NFL Super Bowl MVPs Lynn Swann and Tom Brady, MLB’s Barry Bonds and Jim Fregosi, scholars such as New York Times–bestselling author John Lescroart, and the preeminent portrait photographer in the world, Michael Collop
y. Bob Grassilli is the former mayor of San Carlos and David Bakhtiari plays left tackle for the Green Bay Packers. Thanks to both of you for your generosity.

  I’ve had a great year professionally, but a little less great personally. My wife, Cristina, and I are learning how to let go of our children and send them off to college. When you’re blessed with two of the best kids a parent could ask for, that’s a tough thing. So thanks to my son, Joe, and to my daughter, Catherine—you’ve given this guy more fun than he has had a right to experience. I’ll never forget traveling in London with Joe, who I am convinced was born with radar. That kid can find a restaurant or a pub with just one look at a map. Astonishing. And Catherine continues to make us all laugh. She’s promised to take care of her daddy when he becomes old and senile. What more could a guy want?

  The person who holds all this together is Cristina. How blessed am I that I get to publicly thank her each time I complete a novel? She’s stood by me through the ups and downs, and her support has never wavered. So this past Christmas, 2016, I gave her the gift she’d waited for ever so patiently during our twenty-two years of marriage. She knows what it is, and it is as beautiful as she. Forever and a Day, with you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2015 Catherine Dugoni

  Robert Dugoni is the #1 Kindle bestselling and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Tracy Crosswhite Series, including My Sister’s Grave, Her Final Breath, In the Clearing, and The Trapped Girl. He is also the author of the Edgar Award–nominated The 7th Canon; the New York Times bestselling David Sloane Series, which includes The Jury Master, Wrongful Death, Bodily Harm, Murder One, and The Conviction; the stand-alone novel Damage Control; and the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year selection. Dugoni is also a two-time nominee for both the International Thriller Award and the Harper Lee Award for Legal Fiction, and he is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for fiction. Visit his website at www.robertdugoni.com and follow him on Twitter @robertdugoni and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorRobertDugoni.