Time Release (31 page)
Authors: Martin J Smith
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Police Procedurals, #Thrillers, #Suspense, #Mystery, #FICTION/Thrillers
Christensen took a deep breath, knowing there were no easy answers. But he drew courage from those upturned facesâall three of them. Because if he read them correctly, Sonny's was every bit as hopeful as the others.
Many people helped me research and write this book.
Chemist James Ellern of the University of Southern California helped make sure the cyanide poisoning scenario in the story would be plausible, but also helped me create a circumstance that probably could never be duplicated in real life. No one, I suspect, will ever die by consuming any form of cyanide dissolved in yogurt, frozen confections, breakfast cereal or injected into citrus fruit, for a variety of reasons. And drug-industry innovations since the 1982 Tylenol killings have made capsules and packaging virtually tamper-proof. In some cases I sacrificed accuracy to create a story that likely will remain fiction.
For their insights into the workings of memory and human psychology, I thank pediatric psychiatrist Amy Mandel of the Children's Hospital of Orange County, California, and Ruth Eva Shaffer of Pepperdine University, as well as psychologists Michael and Mindy Sefton and Ann Greeley.
Former FBI agent John W. Warren helped me understand the scary topic of product tampering.
Barbara Mitchell of the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner's Office and F. James Gregris, former deputy coroner of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, were extremely helpful in explaining autopsy procedures and the conduct of a publicly funded morgue. Pittsburgh Detective Rich Meister shared his insights, and Lynne Cox taught me about the mental challenges and physiological responses of a cold-water distance swimmer.
Marjorie Luesebrink of Irvine Valley College convinced me I could write fiction at a time when, in retrospect, it's clear that I could not. Members of my two writing groups helped maintain that illusion until this book finally took shape. The contributions of Susan Ginsburg, my agent, are incalculable and very much appreciated, as are those of my editor at Berkley, Hillary Cige.
Finally, nothing would be possible for me without the sustaining love and support of my wife, Judith Johnson Smith, whose quiet courage inspires me; and our children, Alayne and Parker, who are, quite frankly, perfect.
âM.J.S.
MARTIN J. SMITH is a veteran journalist, author, and magazine editor who has won more than 50 newspaper and magazine awards. A former senior editor of the
Los Angeles Times Magazine
, he currently is editor-in-chief of
Orange Coast
magazine in Orange County, Calif. His first three crime novels were nominated for prestigious crime fiction awardsâthe Edgar, Barry, and Anthony. He also is the author of three nonfiction books, including
The Wild Duck Chase,
Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions, and Lore That Shaped Modern America
, and
Oops: 20 Life Lessons From the Fiascoes That Shaped America
.
The Underhill family has loomed over Pennsylvania politics for four generations as the most powerful in the state. Now, with their youngest son locked in a tight gubernatorial race, a simple accident threatens to derail the entire campaign. After Floss Underhill, the family matriarch, has been discovered alive after falling from a gazebo into a ravine, Brenna Kennedy gets brought in as a defense attorney to the family. The police don't seem to believe that her fall was an accident, however, and soon neither does Brenna.
Jim Christensen, a psychologist, memory expert, and Brenna's partner as they raise their children together, has been studying Floss Underhill for months in a group of Alzheimer's patients. Her mind ravaged by the disease, her body broken by the fall, Floss Underhill nevertheless knows something, and is trying to tell Christensen a family secret so explosive it could bring down an empire. To help bring it out of her, though, will make them powerful enemies, and bring both the truthâand the dangerâvery close to homeâ¦
Eight years ago, Brenna Kennedy defended Carmen DellaVecchio: a loner, a freak, a man accused of a heinous crime. She lost the case, and DellaVecchio was sent to prison for the brutal rape and near murder of Teresa Harnett, a Pittsburgh cop.
But DNA evidence has cast doubt on DellaVecchio's guilt. While he waits for a new trial, he is free, and Brenna still believes that he is an innocent man. But if DellaVecchio is innocent, then that means there's a guilty sociopath out there, and all that's standing in his way from getting away with a grisly crime is one meddling lawyerâ¦
Jim Christiansen has the key to unlock memories. Brilliant and compassionate, he's dedicated his career to studying the effects of memory loss, including on victims of trauma. When Teresa Harnett asks him to help her remember that terrible night, he resists. Ethically, it's unsound, as Christensen and Kennedy have been together for six years. But Christensen is drawn into the case, and soon everyone involved is caught in the web of a man who will kill to stay freeâ¦
The Disappeared Girl
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