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BERKLEYŽ PRIME CRIME
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEYŽ PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
This book is dedicated to
Tom, Carmen, Tommy, Jr., and Robert
who always make me smile and feel lucky
to be sharing this wonderful life with them.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to D. P. Lyle, M.D., and Judy Melinek, M.D., who provided me with details on forensic medicine and poisonings. You were so generous with your time, and patient with my many questions and follow-ups. Thanks to Dave Hardy for providing me with insights into law enforcement, and Kathy Johnson who not only assisted me with law enforcement details but who has always been a source of support and strength for me for so many years. Any errors in forensic or law enforcement procedures are my own.
Thanks to Michelle Vega and Megan Swartz at Berkley Prime Crime and to Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agencyyou are all among the very best in the business. Thanks to P. J. Nunn at Breakthrough Promotions for your efforts in promoting my work, and Jeniffer Thompson and Anna Bobro of Monkey C. Media for creating my wonderful website.
Special thanks to my critique groupTHAT writing group.
Finally, thanks to my mother, Maria Carmen Noa, and to my loving husband, Tom Orgain.
CHAPTER ONE
At Sea