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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank:

Lisa Diamond, Henry Dunn, Angela Payne, and the cast and crew of Third Watch who let Jenny on the set to do research.

The Cherries, who read the forty different versions of the first scene of this book and improved it every time.

Kari Hayes, Corrina Lavitts, Robin LaFevre, Valerie Taylor, Judy Ivory, Deb Dixon, Pat Gaffney, and Heidi Cullinan, who read all or parts of this book in manuscript and gave us feedback, especially Heidi, who gave Pepper the binoculars.

Jen Maler, who put up with both of us for an entire day and took great photographs, and Charlie Verral, who let us use his brownstone as a studio in which Jen could work her magic.

Kari Hayes for running Bob's Web site and Mollie Smith for running Jenny's Web site and the Crusie/Mayer site.

Mollie, again, for running our business always and our lives most of the time.

Meg Ruley for rolling with the punches and representing us beyond the call of agenthood.

Jennifer Enderlin for rolling with the punches and doing an amazing job of editing us.

And everybody at the Jane Rotrosen Agency and St. Martin's Press for their enthusiastic and never-ending support.

Without these fine people, we'd never have made it through.

Chapter 1

Lucy Armstrong was standing on the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge when she first spotted the black helicopter coming at her through the sunset.

Based on the rest of her day, that wasn't going to be good.

Twenty feet to her right, her assistant director, Gleason Bloom, ignored the chopper and worked the set like a depraved grasshopper, trying to organize what Lucy had already recognized as her career's most apathetic movie crew. Her gratitude to Gloom for his usual good work was only exceeded by her gratitude that he hadn't yet seen that the movie's stunt coordinator was Connor Nash, now half hidden behind his black stunt van, arguing with a sulky-looking brunette.

Of course, Gloom was bound to notice Connor sooner or later. I'll just point out that it's only four days, she thought. Four lousy days for really good money, we check on Daisy and Pepper, we finish up somebody else's movie, we go home, no harm, no foul-

Off to the west, the helicopter grew closer, flying very low, just above the winding Savannah River. All around were brush and trees.

garnished with swamp and probably full of predators. "The low country, " Connor had called it, as if that were a good thing instead of a euphemism for "soggy with a chance of alligator. " And now a helicopter-

Lucy rocked back as fifty-some pounds of five-year-old niece smacked into her legs at top speed, knocking her off balance and almost off her feet.

"Aunt Lucy!"

"Pepper!" She went down to her knees, inhaling the Pepper smell of Twizzlers and Fritos and Johnson's baby shampoo as she hugged the little girl to her, trying to avoid the binoculars slung around Pepper's neck. "I am so glad to see you!" she said, rocking her back and forth.