“You’re right.” Marc snapped back to the present, acknowledging the feat they’d accomplished.
“We done good,” Ryan announced, strolling over. “We should make one toast to ourselves. Too bad dogs aren’t allowed in hospital chapels. Hero should be here to share in the celebration.”
“Not to worry,” Claire assured him, still arranging flowers as she spoke. “I left Hero an interactive toy filled with treats. He’ll be wrestling with it all morning to extract his prizes.” She shot Ryan a look. “And, no, they’re not loaded with fat. He won’t gain an ounce. Besides, he was part of this victory. He sniffed out Paul. He helped us bring down Fenton. He deserves a reward.”
“No arguments, Claire-voyant.” Ryan gave her that lazy grin. “Each of us gets some of the credit for this one-even you and your energy-sensing.”
“Wow. A compliment.” Claire rolled her eyes. “Can I get that in writing?”
“Nope. I reserve the right to deny everything-especially if you piss me off during our next case.”
“Which I’m sure I will.”
Casey shook her head, laughing as she did. “We make quite a team. No wonder the FBI wants to choke us half the time.”
“Ah, but that other half of the time…” Ryan was as smug as always. “Look at our track record. Look at our rep. Enough said.”
“For now.” Casey the boss kicked in. “Let’s celebrate this hard-fought victory. Then it’s back to reality-and to work.”
AUTHOR NOTE
The Shinnecock Indian Reservation is located on the east side of Shinnecock Bay in the town of Southampton. While the Shinneock Indian Nation’s gaming authority is planning for a long-awaited casino, that casino does not yet exist. When it does, it will not be built on their reservation, which is their ancestral home, but elsewhere on Long Island. Therefore, the casino in The Line Between Here and Gone is a fictitious place, the product of this writer’s fertile imagination.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A host of people contributed to my writing this book, and I want to express my appreciation to each and every one of them for their time, their expertise, and their tolerance of a novelist who’s a relentless perfectionist.
My thanks go out to:
Angela Bell, Public Affairs Specialist, FBI Office of Public Affairs-and the real-life equivalent of a fairy godmother!
Former SSA John Mandrafina, FBI Undercover Coordinator/Sensitive Operations Program
SSA James McNamara, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit 2
Dr. Morton Cowan, Chief, Allergy Immunology and Blood and Marrow Transplant Division, UCSF Children’s Hospital
SA Laura Robinson, Senior Team Leader, Evidence Response Team, FBI Newark Field Office
SSA Rex Stockham, Program Manager for FBI Laboratory’s Forensic Canine Program
SA James Margolin, FBI Office of Public Affairs, New York Field Office
SSA Gavin Shea, FBI White Collar Squad, Long Island Resident Agency
Sharon L. Dunn, Department of Pediatrics, Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago
Detective Mike Oliver, retired NYPD
Simon Jorna, owner of Simon’s Beach Bakery Café, Westhampton Beach, Long Island, New York
Michael Greene, Simon’s Beach Bakery Café and tour guide of “Amanda’s” apartment
And to a very special core of people:
Adam Wilson, the best (and most deeply missed) editorial partner any author could ask for
Valerie Gray, who stepped in at the crisis hour and finished the process with grace, enthusiasm and commitment
Andrea Cirillo and Christina Hogrebe, my incredible agents and diehard advocates
Peggy Gordijn, the quiet force of nature who stays in the background and moves mountains
And most of all my family, who, every day and in every way, give me the love, the incentive and the creative input to make each book the very best it can be.
Thank you all. You’re the very best of the best.
Andrea Kane
