Acknowledgments

First, as always, I thank God. For everything. Were it not for his peace, this book would never have found its way to completion. There were many early mornings he shaped, prodded, and manipulated me as well as my writing in ways I still don’t understand. But I am grateful.

And I am grateful to my co-author and “Elizabeth Perona” partner, my daughter Liz Dombrosky. Thank you for making this series and this book possible.

A number of people contributed to this book, and for that I want to acknowledge their help. First, the genesis for this book was a long time coming. It was first suggested to me more than five years ago by Doug Weisheit, a cousin who was involved with the Covered Bridge Festival. Thank you, Doug! I also want to acknowledge the staff of the Rockville Public Library, who helped with the research for this book. The manager of the Rock Run Café and Bakery, which is located just outside the Roseville Bridge as described in the book, provided much lore about Doc Wheat—who really did exist, though I have enhanced his legend quite a bit. The Rock Run owners also have allowed me to use their wonderful café as a location in this book. Their food and hospitality are well worth the drive. Please check them out.

I also wish to thank Parke County Sheriff Justin Cole and Deputy Sheriff Jason Frazier for helping me with their expertise about the county and law enforcement details. The Parke County Highway Department also provided some historic details about bridge fires and how they have tried to stem them in modern times, although for dramatic purposes I have not chosen to include some of them. Plainfield Police staff, especially Capt. Jill Lees, Lt. Gary Tanner, and Det. Scott Ardnt, also provided their expertise, as did Fire Chief Brian Russell. Any mistakes in this manuscript are mine as the author, and not theirs.

My aunt, Nancee Margison, has helped in a great number of ways with this series, all of which shall remain a mystery to the general public for now.

The character of Joy McQueen is named for reader Joy McQueen, who won the right to have a character named after her in a contest. I hope she continues to enjoy this series.

I am privileged to be a member of an incredible writers group, the Indiana Writers Workshop, and I wish to acknowledge their help with this manuscript. It is so much better because of their critiques: David Ballard, Teri Barnett, Pete Cava, John and June Clair, Steve Heininger, Sylvia Hyde, Cheryl Shore, and Steve Wynalda. I also want to acknowledge IWW member Lucy Schilling, who passed away during the writing of this manuscript. She was a marvelous writer, and I miss her friendship and her critiques. I also appreciate the support of the local Speed City Chapter of Sisters in Crime, of which I am a member (a Mister Sister).

Midnight Ink has a great staff to work with! Special thanks to our editors, Terri Bischoff and Nicole Nugent, and to our publicist, Katie Mickschl. They make it a pleasure to be part of the Midnight Ink family.

None of this, of course, would have taken place without the love and support of my wife, Debbie. Thank you, Deb! And I appreciate the support of my daughter and son-in-law Katy and Taylor Jenkins as well as Liz’s husband, Tim, who have all been troopers about this book business. I am blessed to have such a marvelous family.—Tony

First, I’d like to thank God for granting me this opportunity. I never in my wildest dreams saw myself on this crazy journey with my dad, and I’m just so thankful that He saw fit to make it happen.

Thanks Dad, for inviting me along to do this with you. It’s been a blast, and I’m looking forward to more books!

I’d also like to thank my husband, Tim, for continuing to cheer me on and spend a little extra time entertaining our kids, so I can write, edit, and do appearances. I love you!

And finally, I’m thankful for nap time, a little bit of quiet time to get stuff done. Kidding, kind of. ;)—Liz