acknowledgments

Many thanks to private detective David Keil, who offered hours of insight. “America’s Secret ICE Castles,” an article published in The Nation by Jacqueline Stevens and the documentary “Lost in Detention,” written and directed by Rick Young and aired on PBS Frontline, offered inside looks at national issues with immigration and incarceration. Rachel Maddow’s coverage of issues with private prisons generated fresh leads and insight. Illegal: Life and Death in Arizona’s Immigration War Zone, by Terry Greene Sterling, provided excellent details as did The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from The Arizona Borderlands, by Margaret Regan. Frank McGee of Colorado State Parks & Wildlife answered many, many questions about wildlife and criminal investigations in the woods. And Renee Rumrill, well, I wouldn’t be here without you and thanks also for your sharp eye on the manuscript.

To my late pal Gary Reilly, thank you for planting the seed for this story. This was your idea. Thanks to my friend Ralph Beall for pointing me to Richard Connell. Editor Shana Kelly’s big-picture insights and thoughtful analysis of the story were golden. Suzanne Gluck and Eve Atterman, thank you both for your enthusiasm for Allison Coil as a character and for several critical ideas for this final version of the story. Thanks to Stephen Singular, Barry Wightman, Mike Keefe, Allyn Harvey, and Mark Eddy for detailed readings. Mark Graham, thank you for your support and advice over the decades and for a thoughtful take on this story. Thanks also to the entire Short Story Book Club—Ted Pinkowitz, Susan Fox, Dan Slattery, Parry Burnap, Laura Snapp, and my wife, Jody Chapel—for tackling the tough job as beta readers. Many thanks to my three girls—Jody, Ally, and Justine—for their unwavering support and enthusiasm. Deep thanks to the ever-strategic Linda Hull (for obvious reasons) and many thanks to Terri Bischoff, who has done so much as an editor to champion good mysteries everywhere and who helped shape this story in particular.