Frank Mellon is a chemical engineer and innovation-process consultant who’s worked with my husband over the years, and become a very good friend in the process. He helped me to conceptualize the formulation and scale-up processes in Behind The Bonehouse, as well as what making a paste at Equine would’ve entailed in the early ’60s.
Dr. Rick Martin was the vet who cared for my favorite horse, Max, through the loss of his eye (which is part of the plot in Watches of The Night). Rick’s gotten used to my peculiar questions, and when I asked, “What kind of equine pharmaceutical would’ve been an interesting way of killing someone in the early ’60s?”, he came up with several options, but leaned toward the organophosphates, Dylox in particular. I did too. Which led to more questions, which he answered patiently, before and after he found me a Merck Veterinary Manual from 1961 on e-bay that’s filled with detailed information on vet medicine at that time.
Jeff Nelson, our long time family attorney, very kindly helped me with the employment contract noncompete issues and the options Bob would’ve had in dealing with Carl, as well as various procedures related to Alan’s arrest.
Jim Rouse is a well-known Woodford County attorney (whose farm I’ve commandeered and given to Jo and Alan) who helped me with Woodford County history and legal procedures as well. He also arranged for me to interview Loren “Squirrel” Carl, a former Woodford County Sheriff.
Squirrel, who’s now a U.S. Marshal (and yes, I couldn’t keep myself from asking about the nickname), described how the investigation of the crime scene would’ve been conducted, as well as what the court proceedings would’ve been like in Woodford County at that time. He also told me that the pay phones in Versailles were privately owned in 1964, and that that’s where records of calls would have been found, which smoothed a wrinkle in the storyline.
Betsy Pratt Kelly (who once owned the house I describe as Jo and Alan’s, which is actually on McCracken Pike and is now a part of the Irish stud farm where American Pharoah is standing at stud) knows so much of the history and social context of Versailles and Woodford County that there aren’t too many questions she can’t answer. She’s also introduced me to all kinds of people who’ve told me things I’ve needed to know, and given me ideas for characters as well. When I told her I wanted Esther Wilkes to live in an African American community somewhere in the country, she took me to Frog Town (where there were no signs of a town, much less frogs, and the origin of the name has been lost in time). I saw a house Esther could live in and drew a quick sketch before we drove around a curve – where we saw an old gentleman working in his garden. Betsy thought he looked vaguely familiar, and she stopped the car and got out. As soon as they started talking, they discovered that they’d known each other when she was a child, for Betsy had lived on a farm nearby where his parents and older relations had helped from time to time. It was good to watch them reminisce about folks remembered but long gone and what their families are like today.
Betsy’s husband, Bob Kelly (who’s lived and worked all over the world, first in the Air Force, later in academia), did research on aspects of Keeneland I hadn’t thought to investigate when I was there. In the course of various visits, he also helped me develop a better sense of what it was like to be raised in Woodford County and watch it change since the ’40s.