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A Michaela McPherson Mystery
By
Judith Lucci
Copyright © 2015 by Judith Lucci
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to all of you! Thanks to everyone who has listened to me dream aloud about Dr. Dude, the Michaela series or my Alex Destephano medical thrillers. Thanks to all of you who follow my work. I’d like to give a special shout out to my wonderful author friend, Eric J. Gates, a masterful thriller writer and author of The Cull Series and Outsourced, among others. Eric has been my technical expert in most things military, explosive, and gun-like. I’d also like to thank Mike Talbert, Richmond Police Department Detective (Retired) for his time in consulting with me about crime in my hometown. Kudos to my wonderful author friend, Sarah Mallery for her thoughtful review of Dr. Dude.
DEDICATION
It’s appalling but true. Every year millions of people, approximately twenty-seven million adults and thirteen million children, are bought, sold, and smuggled into modern-day slavery. People are trafficked in every state in America and in every country in the world. Eighty percent of persons trafficked are women and children. Victims are beaten, starved, sold for sex and forced to work as prostitutes or slaves. Oftentimes young people are trafficked for their organs that are sold on the black market for exorbitant prices. Children as young as seven years of age are captured by terrorist organizations and made to become suicide bombers. This novel is dedicated to the victims of human trafficking and the international agencies who are working to stop it. The toll on society, both personal and psychological, and the impact trafficking has on global health issues must be addressed.