Or maybe not. Real life isn’t neat and tidy like that. It doesn’t get tied up in a cute little bow. That’s for fairy tales, right? But Angie had a point. We know those fairy tale ending aren’t real, but we can still dream. We can still believe.
So I guess in the end I gave Jade what Angie gave me. Well, Angie didn’t give it to me. I had it in me all the time, I just forgot about it for a while. It had gone dark and Angie’s card sparked it right back up. Now it’s in me, glowing again. And I pray it glows inside Jade, too.
It’s the thing that kept me going all those dark days and it keeps me going now. It’s what gives me reason to believe one day Sarah Winter will come home. It’s what Jade will need if she’s ever going to get clean and leave her old life behind. If she’s ever going to call Angie for help. There’s a word for the kind of feeling I’m describing. It’s an important word for me and for 21 million people just like me all around the world.
The word is hope.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is one of my favorite pages to write. It’s my opportunity to thank those who offered help, often in unexpected ways. In addition to my editor and agent (Meg Ruley), deepest thanks to:
Lou Bivona for putting me in touch with the right people at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Frank Conners at the U.S. Marshals Service for his invaluable insights into the work of fugitive apprehension.
Anji Pribyl MaCuk, who runs the She Spies private investigation agency (https://www.shespiespi.com/), who also became the inspiration for Angie DeRose.
The team at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) who do the hard work of keeping children safe every day of the year.
A special thanks to Leemie Kahng-Sofer for her guidance and expertise.
My mom, Judy Palmer and Ellen Clair Lamb who help to make sure my words ring true.
Donna Prince for helping me remember what it was like that day in the hospital.
Rebecca Scherer for always being a sounding board.
Jessica Bladd Palmer for all she does.
My kids for all they do. I’m grateful they’re safe and painfully aware that not every parent can say the same about their children.
—Daniel Palmer
Hollis, New Hampshire
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2016 by Daniel Palmer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-9347-3
First Kensington Trade Edition: June 2016
eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-9348-0
eISBN-10: 0-7582-9348-8
First Kensington Electronic Edition: June 2016
Forgive Me Page 35
