20th Victim (Women's Murder Club #20)(84)
I thought of the many times Cindy had been instrumental in solving crimes with her press card, by being the dogged bulldog she is. I remembered her taking a bullet and bringing down an armed killer on the block where I lived.
I said, “I feel the same way about you, Cin. You’re the best.”
Back at the table, we made a coffee toast to the Women’s Murder Club, and to how lucky we all were in our jobs, and our friendships.
Claire said, “I’m gonna add some heavy cream to that.”
She creamed her coffee, and then all of us, even those who hadn’t had real cream in years, dosed our java.
I looked around at my three friends and thought how we didn’t take our luck for granted. We never did.
We split the check and, soon after, went home to the men and children we loved.
May it always be so.
Acknowledgments
With thanks to top attorneys Phil Hoffman and Steven Rabinowitz, partners at Pryor Cashman, LLP in New York, for their wise counsel; and, at the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Stamford, Connecticut, PD, the real Capt. Richard Conklin, and tech wiz Mike Stempien.
We also wish to thank Mitchell Terk, MD, Jacksonville, Fla., who advised us on the care of Claire Washburn; and thanks, too, to Michael A. Cizmar, retired Special Agent with the FBI and a private military contractor in Afghanistan.
And our admiration for Mary Jordan, who keeps innumerable plates in the air without dropping one; to our gifted researcher, Ingrid Taylar, West Coast, USA; and to Team Patterson at Little, Brown. You are #1.
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