ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I very much want to thank the following experts in their fields for assistance on detail and veracity:

Dr. Linda Barde, Director of Special Education Services and Sign Language Instructor, Chabot College, Hayward, California

Joyanne Burdett, Librarian, California School for the Deaf, Fremont, California

Colma Cemeteries, Colma, California

Linda Davis, Features Editor, Valley Times, Pleasanton, California

DCARA - Deaf Counseling and Referral Agency, San Leandro, California

Melanie Ellington, Counseling and Correctional Services, Jamestown, California

David Goll, City Editor, Valley Times, Pleasanton, California

Robert Goll, Managing Editor, Daily Ledger, Antioch, California

Kay Grant, Near Escapes, San Francisco, California

Mario Marcoli, Gold Prospector, Jamestown, California

Donna Melander, Certified Interpreter for the Deaf, Fremont, California

Sgt. Keith W. Melton, retired, California Highway Patrol

Beverly Jackson, Sign Language Instructor, Mt. Diablo Adult School, Concord, California

Mother Lode Coffee Shop, Jamestown, California

Dr. Boyd Stevens, Chief Medical Examiner, San Francisco Coroner’s office, San Francisco, California

Jacquelyn Taylor, President, San Francisco College of Mortuary Science, San Francisco, California

Many thanks to the Northern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, to Sisters in Crime, and to my mystery critique group: Jonnie Jacobs, Margaret Lucke, Lynn McDonald, and Sally Richards. Additional thanks to Charlie Ahern, Janet Dawson, Lucy Galen, J.D. Knight, Stacey Norris, Edward and Constance Pike, Geoffrey Pike, and Shelley Singer.

And very special thanks to Amy Kossow, Linda Allen, Casey Blaine, Cassie Goddard, and Kate Miciak.