The Eighth Sister (Charles Jenkins #1)(125)

I also recall that when we went to the Church of the Twelve Apostles, we encountered a group of schoolchildren. They looked at us and smiled knowingly. One young boy, finding the courage, walked up to me and said, “You military.” I assured him I wasn’t. My assurances were not believed. His friends, now emboldened, came forward and soon many were repeating, “You military.”

So, if we hadn’t attracted enough attention, two nights later, my brother-in-law, in search of a stone from Red Square, convinced me to go out at midnight to smoke a Cuban cigar. We stood near the platform where Ivan the Terrible was said to have executed many. There was a small, loose stone in the bricks. My brother-in-law said, “How do I get it?”

I said, “Drop your cigar and when you pick it up, pick up the stone.”

My brother-in-law dropped his cigar. When he did, a car across the square turned on its headlights and shot straight for us, stopping about ten feet in front of us. My brother-in-law, concerned, said, “What should I do?”

I said, “Shut up.” Then I said, “Step on your cigar.”

He did, and we walked back to the hotel on our best behavior.

I later learned, through research, that the Hotel Rossiya was the hotel where all international visitors were placed. I also learned that when the hotel was purchased to be remodeled, they found listening devices, cameras, and pipes, apparently to dispense gas, embedded in the walls. The hotel had to be torn down. A park was created. Vladimir Putin took credit. I also learned that Red Square had directional microphones everywhere, and they were said to be so sensitive they could pick up a whisper. I don’t doubt it.

So, were the Russians interested in me and my family? Probably not. We were a pretty boring lot in terms of careers and espionage. But all of the above sure made for great intrigue, didn’t it? And that was the beginning of my fascination with Russia. We all agree that the trip to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Zagorsk was the most interesting and fascinating we have experienced. Russia is a country of incredible beauty and wealth and just as incredible poverty. The people generally walked with their heads down, as if hoping not to be noticed, but when approached, they would go out of their way to assist us and take us wherever we were trying to go. We were not on a tour, which meant interaction in newly formed food stores and restaurants was imperative. Few spoke English. In St. Petersburg, we stayed in an apartment the family had lived in for five generations. They gave it to us because the rent we paid for the week was more than the owner made in a year. I watched ice float up the Neva River and thought of Napoleon.

A friend said I had to go back to write this novel. That was just not in the cards. So I pulled out my photo albums, and read many books, and I went back over the restaurants we went to and the places we explored.

Russia was the last big trip I took with my father. He died of melanoma on Father’s Day in 2008. I want to remember him in the square in St. Petersburg, kissing my mother, who bent one leg backward, like a movie star in some iconic film. I keep that picture on my wall.

I could never write a Charles Jenkins novel without acknowledging and thanking my law school roommate and dear friend, Charles Jenkins. Chaz, as we called him, is a living legend. At six foot five and 230 pounds of sculpted muscle, we were in awe of him in the weight room, but more so outside of it. Chaz is a gentle soul, quiet and funny with a unique perspective of the happenings in life. A good man and a wonderful father, he’s also one of my dearest friends. I told Chaz long ago that he was larger than life, and that someday I’d write a book and use his name and likeness. Now I have. I also hope I captured his essence.

Thanks to Meg Ruley, Rebecca Scherer, and the team at the Jane Rotrosen Agency, my incredible agents. I am so blessed to have them. They are tireless advocates, knowledgeable advisors, and truly wonderful people who make travel to New York always a blast.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer. This is the tenth book I’ve written for them, and they have made each one better with their edits and suggestions. They have sold and promoted me and my novels all over the world, and I have had the pleasure of meeting the Amazon Publishing teams from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Wonderful people in every sense of the word. I am so very grateful for all they have done and continue to do for me and for my novels.

Thanks to Sarah Shaw, author relations, who never seems to have a bad day. She is always smiling. Again, thank you for always brightening my day.

Thanks to Sean Baker, head of production; Laura Barrett, production manager; and Oisin O’Malley, art director. I love the covers and the titles of each of my novels, and I have them to thank. Thanks to Dennelle Catlett, Amazon Publishing PR, for all the work promoting me and my novels. Dennelle takes care of me whenever I’m traveling and it always feels like first-class. Thanks to the marketing team, Gabrielle Guarnero, Laura Costantino, and Kyla Pigoni, for all of their dedicated work helping me to create an author platform both interesting and accessible to you, the reader. Thanks to publisher Mikyla Bruder, associate publisher Galen Maynard, and Jeff Belle, vice president of Amazon Publishing, all truly good people.

Special thanks to Thomas & Mercer’s editorial director, Gracie Doyle. She is with me from the concept to the final written novel, always with ideas on how to make it better. She pushes me to write the best novels I can, and I’m so very lucky to have her on my team. She’s also become a close friend whom I enjoy traveling with.

Thank you to Charlotte Herscher, developmental editor. This is book ten together, and she has the unenviable task of telling me when things in the book don’t work. I pout for an hour, realize she’s right, and get back to work making the novel better. Thanks to Scott Calamar, copyeditor. When you recognize a weakness, it is a wonderful thing—because then you can ask for help. He makes me look a lot smarter than I am, and I’m grateful he does so.