Touch & Go (50 page)

Ashlyn and I are talking again, sharing our pain, but also our fledgling hopes and dreams. My daughter is officially a wealthy young woman. In keeping with the tradition of his father, Justin left the entire company to her, by name. Meaning she now owns one of the largest construction firms in the country, not to mention two homes and a nice collection of cars.

She doesn’t want them. We are working with Anita Bennett and Ruth Chan to put together a deal for the employees of Denbe Construction to purchase 51 percent of the firm. As for our Boston brownstone, Ashlyn would like to part with that as well.

We both agree it’s too big and filled with too much regret.

We like the idea of leaving Boston, maybe heading west, to Seattle or Portland. We’ll buy a charming Craftsman-style bungalow, maybe something with a detached garage we can turn into an art studio. I can work on my jewelry. Ashlyn would like to take up pottery.

We can nest for a bit. Have less. Do less.

Find more.

I like the idea and, being a wealthy older woman, can afford for
the first time in my life to do as I please. That piece of paper Z delivered on Radar’s behalf? It bore the number of an offshore bank account held in Justin’s name. Justin had three go-to passwords. In this case, it took me only two tries to guess the right one. At which point, I electronically transferred all 12.8 million dollars to a new fund under a corporate name I invented on the spot. A few more transfers here and there, and Justin’s Exit in Case of Emergency fund became my Sole Surviving Spouse fund.

Imagine, after all the lengths Justin went to in order to make sure I would never be entitled to a single penny of his money, I got it all.

I wonder if he’s rolling over in his grave.

And I confess, some days that thought makes me smile.

This is what I know:

Pain has a flavor.

But hope does, too.

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Author’s Note and Acknowledgments

I’ve always wanted to kidnap a family. It’s one of those ideas that has spent years churning around in the back of my head. Then one day, I had the opportunity to tour a recently constructed prison, and my writer’s brain immediately fell in love.

Endless coils of razor wire. Solid bars of saw-proof steel. Narrow slivers of ballistic-rated glass. All combining to help form one vast, soulless structure where footsteps echoed for miles and the clang of heavy doors slamming shut sent shivers up my spine.

Yep, it was love at first sight.

Meaning first and foremost, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Michael Duffy for providing a tour of the facility his company helped build. He also educated me on the number of unopened and mothballed penitentiaries nationwide, as ongoing budget crises have frozen the funds needed to open and/or operate the facilities.

In this particular case, the prison has since opened. Also, the building I describe in this novel is a work of fiction. Having toured one prison and read about many others, I amused myself by cherry-picking the particular details I liked best. It’s good to be an author, where I can construct anything I want out of pure words.

Along those same lines, any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

For the making of this novel, I also decided it was time to create a new character, an honest-to-goodness New Hampshire cop. I didn’t
fully appreciate just how unique the county sheriff’s departments are in New Hampshire, until I tied up hours of Lieutenant Mike Santuccio’s well-intentioned time. His insightfulness, not to mention patience with my endless questions, definitely saved me on several occasions. Thank you, Lieutenant, for a fascinating look at rural policing, not to mention fresh respect for the men and women who must police these crazy mountains I love so much. Once again, any mistakes are mine, and mine alone.

Sarah Luke helped with much of the addiction information. While fellow suspense novelist and one of my favorite authors, Joseph Finder, set me straight on the inner workings of Back Bay Boston. Thanks, Joe!

Congratulations to Michael Beardsley, nominated for death by his loving wife, Catherine, who won the annual Kill a Friend, Maim a Buddy Sweepstakes at LisaGardner.com. Also to Stuart Blair, winner of the international Kill a Friend, Maim a Mate, who nominated his new bride Lindsay Edmiston for a star-making turn in the novel. Since no females die in the making of this novel (a first for me!), Lindsay graciously agreed to the role of Ashlyn’s BFF. Don’t worry, you can still visit the website, where the next contest for literary immortality is already up and running. Maybe 2014 can be your year to fictionally maim that special person in your life.

Speaking of love, Kim Beals was the winning bidder at the annual Rozzie May Animal Alliance auction. Her generous donation to Rozzie May, which assists with low-cost spaying and neutering of dogs and cats, was in honor of her stepdad, Daniel J. Coakley. Her one request, he be a decent guy in the novel, as he is a great guy in real life. Hope you both enjoy!

Being an animal lover, I also donate one opportunity for pet immortality to be auctioned off by my local no-kill animal shelter, the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire–North. This year’s winners, Michael Kline and Sal Martignetti, asked me to commemorate
their beloved black Lab, Zeus, who passed away during the writing of this book. Zeus was one of those amazing dogs who seemed more human than canine. As his owners put it, while most Labs could be cadaver dogs, Zeus could’ve been a detective.

Finally, my deepest, most heartfelt appreciation to my editors, Ben Sevier from Dutton and Vicki Mellor from Headline. In the way the writing process sometimes goes, I grew a little frustrated with this book. As in burning it or shredding it, or shredding, then burning it started to sound like great ideas. But my editors insisted on offering insightful comments that dramatically improved the novel instead. Fine. Just remember, what happens in the first draft, stays in the first draft…

Clearly, writing a novel is a lonely, if not always sane, pastime. I am so fortunate to have a truly amazing and supportive family who puts up with me even when my dinner conversation consists of muttering under my breath followed by staring off into space. Then there’s the best friends a girl could ask for, Genn, Sarah, Michelle and Kerry, who know when to make me laugh and when to simply pour another glass of wine.

Finally, my heartfelt adoration to my enormously talented, incredibly gracious, favorite-person-in-the-whole-world agent, Meg Ruley. Yes, she’s that good and I’m happy to have her on my side.

Oh yeah, and just in case you thought I hadn’t noticed, thank you to my amazing readers, who make all this pain worthwhile.

About the Author

LISA GARDNER
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of fifteen novels. Her Detective D. D. Warren novels include
Catch Me, Love You More, Live to Tell, The Neighbor, Hide
, and
Alone
. Her FBI profiler novels include
Say Goodbye, Gone, The Killing Hour, The Next Accident
, and
The Third Victim
. She lives with her family in New England, where she is at work on her next novel.

ALSO BY LISA GARDNER

Novels
The Perfect Husband
The Other Daughter
The Third Victim
The Next Accident
The Survivors Club
The Killing Hour
Alone
Gone
Hide
Say Goodbye
The Neighbor
Live to Tell
Love You More
Catch Me

Short Works
The 7th Month