SEVERAL PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS BOOK and I’d like to thank them: my family and friends for their support; my editor, Joe Blades, for his enthusiasm and thoughtful suggestions; my agent, Nancy Yost, for her hard work; Dr. Robert Power for medical information; Karen Bell of the Smithville, Texas Public Library; Chief Lee Nusbaum of the Smithville Police Department; and, finally, the members of The Black Shoes Writers’ Group: Barbara Burnett Smith, Jan Grape, and Susan Rogers Cooper. The friendship, encouragement, and criticism of these three writers has made all the difference to me.