Catch Me (Detective D.D. Warren, #6)(130)

“A little prickly,” he said. “A little forceful.”

She smiled. “You didn’t back down. And you didn’t try to change me. You’re good for me, Alex. You’re patient and tolerant and exactly the kind of parent Jack needs. Watching you, I’ve realized that I can be that way, too. It’s good to sometimes be patient. And a little tolerance does make the world easier to bear. I’m not saying I can’t still be mean—”

“I would never doubt it,” he assured her.

“But I’m also realizing I can approach things other ways. And I can be happy. I can come home, and for the first time in my life, I can be. Just…be.”

Alex took her hand. He squeezed it and didn’t say a word because he didn’t have to. He got her, that’s what it was all about.

“I love you, Alex.”

“I love you, too, D.D.”

They put Jack to bed, snuggled together on the sofa. Discussed possibly painting the family room. Watched some show on the History Channel. Fell asleep with marines storming some beach in some faraway land.

Midnight, Jack woke up for a bottle.

D.D. fed him, then put him and Alex to bed.

Two A.M., her police pager chimed to life.

She dressed in the dark. Kissed Alex. Kissed Jack. Clipped on her badge, hit the road.

Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren. On the job and loving it.



Author’s Note and Acknowledgments


By far, my favorite part of the writing process is interviewing fun and interesting people in order to learn fun and interesting ways of terrifying my readers (and sometimes myself!). Catch Me is no exception. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to:

Ellen Ohlenbusch, Internet safety expert, who absolutely, positively horrified me with her matter-of-fact explanation of all the ways the World Wide Web can be used to stalk and victimize young children. It’s an interesting subject that most parents don’t want to hear about, but what you don’t know can hurt you. Just ask Jesse’s mom, Jennifer, in this novel. Oh, thanks also for the use of your name. What can I say, Ohlenbusch was too good to pass up, especially for a Boston cop.

Speaking of Boston cops…Wayne Rock, Esquire. I first met Wayne when I was researching another D. D. Warren adventure, Hide, seven years ago. Since then, Wayne has retired from the Boston PD, but still can’t escape my phone calls. From police procedure to pertinent legal details, Wayne is always in the know, much to my deepest relief and appreciation.

For police dispatch, I’m indebted to a number of folks, including Shannon L. Barnes from the Gardner Police. I think communications officers are one of the most invaluable and overlooked members of the law enforcement community. Thank you for allowing me to share your story, wish I had even more time and space to do it justice.

On the boxing front, I owe my deepest gratitude to three-time world champion Dick Kimber. He has shared his love of boxing with my entire family. Yes, a family that fights together, stays together. He also shared many tidbits on self-defense, including the pen trick, which I can personally assure you really, really hurts. My forearm was bruised for weeks. Thanks, Dick!

As always, all mistakes in this novel are mine and mine alone. Hey, I gotta take credit for something.

Now, for those of you who thought some of these characters had more stories to share, you’re right! Charlie’s shooting instructor, J. T. Dillon and his wife, Tess, first appeared in my novel The Perfect Husband. Rhode Island Sergeant Roan Griffin met his wife Jillian in The Survivors Club. Former FBI profiler Pierce Quincy, and his daughter, FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy, share an entire series, including The Perfect Husband, The Third Victim, The Next Accident, The Killing Hour, Gone, and Say Goodbye. Also, brief shout out for FBI healthcare fraud investigator David Riggs, who appeared in The Other Daughter. I’m sure he had no problem gathering evidence against Randi Menke’s evil ex, and only wishes he could’ve put the bad doc away for life. For more information on all the characters as well as other Lisa Gardner novels, please check out LisaGardner.com.

As for how so many of my characters came to inhabit one novel, you may thank/blame my mother. I told her I’d come up with a great way to bring back J. T. Dillon, as I knew readers missed him. She nodded politely, then mentioned that she really wanted to see Griffin from The Survivors Club. And the more she thought about it, it’d been a long time since she’d gotten to read about Quincy or Kimberly. What about them?

Once I got over gnashing my teeth, it occurred to me that my accountant mother had a very good idea. So this book is for you, Mom. Because you always cared and you always inspired, even if having a novelist daughter continues to bemuse you. I love you.

Speaking of love, this book is also dedicated to the real Tulip. Adopted by her devoted family from an animal shelter sixteen years ago, Tulip has lived a grand life as one of the smartest, gentlest dogs around. Her family won the honor of including Tulip in this novel at a charity auction for the Animal Rescue League of NH-North. They said that they understood their time with Tulip was reaching an end, and they wanted to capture her unbelievable spirit, as well as immortalize one of the best dogs they’d ever known. So here’s to Tulip, who continues to inspire.

As for other real-life fictional characters…Congratulations to Tom Mackereth and Randi Menke for winning the annual Kill a Friend, Maim a Buddy/Mate Sweepstakes at LisaGardner.com. As winners they got to nominate the person of their choice to die and/or be maimed in my next novel. They both nominated themselves. Hope you enjoy the fictional ride. As for the rest of you, the sweepstakes is up and running once more. Swing by LisaGardner.com, and who knows, maybe next year, this can be you!