For the sections concerning Lefebvre’s plane, I am indebted to Jeff Rich, Senior Safety Investigator, National Transportation Safety Board, Southwest Regional Office, and to Manny Raefsky, who spent a career investigating aviation disasters.
SAR and cadaver dog trainer Beth Barkely provided help with passages concerning Bingle (but please don’t assume she’d break the rules Ben Sheridan breaks!) and also with the collapsed building scenes. I also had help regarding Ben and Bingle’s mountain searches — especially the wood rat’s nest — from the members of the Internet Listserv SAR-DOGS, and I thank Leo Delany, Travis County SAR; Fleta Kirk, MARK-9 SAR, Dallas; Bev Peabody, Placer County Sheriff’s SAR K9 Team; and Laura Rathe, California Rescue Dog Association for their assistance.
The technical rescue scenes and information about collapsed buildings grew out of conversations with Mark Ghilarducci, Federal Coordinating Officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a specialist in urban search and rescue; with Bob Caldon, Public Information Officer for the Long Beach Fire Department; and most especially with the help of Captain Jeff Reeb, Long Beach Fire Department.
I appreciate the time and effort given by forensic anthropologists Madeleine Hinkes — who allowed me to picture the crash site much more clearly — Paul Sledzik, Diane France, and Marilyn London; Sandra Cvar for guinea pig sound effects and for helping me catch errors in the manuscript; John G. Fischer for fight scenes; Jonathan Beggs for help with constructing the attic; Melodie Johnson Howe for reconstruction and encouragement. Timbrely Pearsley provided computer information, and Tonya Pearsley gave feedback on early drafts.
Shortly after I named a character Lefebvre, I began to hear five or six different pronunciations of his Quebecois name. Thanks are due to the members of Dorothy L, an Internet Listserv dedicated to mystery fiction, who kindly answered my plea for help with this matter, especially Nicole Leclerc, C. Tessier, Carole Epstein, Catherine, Gail, Marlyn, Nina, and Mary Jane. As Phil Lefebvre explains, there are several ways the owners of the name may say it, and I hope my readers in Quebec will find the one I chose to be believable for his background.
In addition to surviving jobs in television news, the real Marcia Wolfe-Gruber is a dear friend, Video Vixen, and kick in the pants — her husband, Dr. James Gruber, also my friend, and inventor of the Grubescope, answered medical questions.
One evening at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, I was introduced to Erin Declan Philbin, a speech and language pathologist who specializes in alternative augmentation communication — and soon enlisted her aid in understanding how Seth Randolph would communicate after his injuries. My thanks to Erin and the MLB.
Thanks also to Scott Carrier of the Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner for his assistance.
Marysue Rucci is an extraordinary editor whose commitment to this book and influence in helping it to outgrow an awkward adolescence have earned her my deepest gratitude and respect.
Tim Burke, you’re still the one.
About the Author
Jan Burke is the recipient of the Edgar Award for Best Novel of 1999 (Bones), the Macavity Award, the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Award, and the Romantic Times’s Career Achievement Award for Contemporary Suspense. She lives in Southern California with her husband, Tim, and her dogs, Cappy and Britches. She is currently at work on her next novel. Her Web site is at www.janburke.com.
Also by Jan Burke
Goodnight, Irene
Sweet Dreams, Irene
Dear Irene
Remember Me, Irene
Hocus
Liar
Bones