During plotting, I like to try and make Seattle itself a “character,” so I try to weave Danny and Toni’s stories in and around authentic places in the Northwest. Sometimes, I need to invent a place if I’m going to paint it in a negative light, and occasionally I have to take advantage of a little “artistic license” to get things to fit—the stories are completely fictional, after all. Along these lines, every place mentioned in Mona Lisa Eyes is real with the exception of the Genesis Club, which is a product of my imagination. Also, the city blocks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood are not a quarter mile long—they’re a good deal shorter. But I needed Danny to run for several seconds, and Danny’s a fast runner, so I had to “stretch” the blocks.
Along these lines, the historical events mentioned in the story happened pretty much as described—the football games, the sailboat race (obviously, without Eric Gaston and his Warwitch), and the presidential election. This causes the story’s timeline to expand and contract by a few days here and there, but I think it worked out alright.
Finally, there are lots of good organizations out there doing critical work to help the struggling peoples in Africa, but the Beatrice Thoms Memorial Foundation is not one of them. Nor is the Southern Star Relief Fund.
Acknowledgments
Mona Lisa Eyes required a great deal of research and specialized information, which I was fortunate to obtain through the efforts of many dedicated and talented people.
Thanks to my developmental editor, Beth Jusino, for helping to identify and shape the real story hidden in the usual jumble of words that make up the early drafts of the book. I very much appreciate your good work, sense, advice, and conversation.
Thanks to my copy editors, Brynn Warriner and Carrie Wicks, for helping me take what I (mistakenly) hoped was a finished manuscript to a manuscript that really is finished now—a humbling but necessary experience. Incidentally, Beth and Carrie work in Seattle and Brynn used to: they provide sound advice and assistance on specifics of the novel’s Seattle setting. And Carrie Wicks the talented editor also happens to be Carrie Wicks the talented jazz singer who appears in Chapter 10 of Mona Lisa Eyes. Check out her albums at http://carriewicks.net. She’s one of Danny’s favorites.
Thank you to my good friend Dr. John Kremer. A mystery novelist has no end of strange, gruesome medical questions. Dr. John is always there to not only cheerfully answer the questions, but to offer up suggestions that I’d never even thought of.
Thanks to my dedicated group of beta readers: Ellen Johnson, Casey Jacobs, Jennifer Norton, Liz Spiller, and Dennis Doppe. They’ve read every word of each novel—they know Danny and Toni almost as well as I do. When I “stray,” they’re always there to straighten me out.
Thanks to all the fans of Danny and Toni who’ve written and told me how much they enjoy reading about these two. I appreciate the e-mails, the Facebook posts, and the reviews posted on Amazon. Sorry Mona Lisa was so long in coming.
Finally, as always, thanks to my wife, Michelle, for her constant support in this and all my other endeavors.
Contents
Prologue
PART 1 Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
PART 2 Chapter 17
Chapter 18
PART 3 Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
Author’s Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by M.D. Grayson
Logan Gear
About the Publisher
Copyright
[E-Book edition]
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
MONA LISA EYES
M.D. Grayson
Copyright © 2013 by M.D. Grayson
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this e-book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your retailer and purchase your own copy. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Cedar Coast Press. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Cedar Coast Press and the “Cedar Tree” logo are trademarks of Cedar Coast Press, LLC or an affiliated company.
Cover design by M.D. Grayson
Cover art:
Copyright © iStockPhoto # 11372900 Beautiful Young Woman by Juan Monino Copyright © iStockPhoto # 12134520 Night Paradise by Da-Kuk
"I Thought of You" by Jane Rose Gilbertson, used with permission of author. Thanks, Jane.
First e-Book Edition: September 2013
ISBN– eBook 978-0-9849518-7-1
ISBN–Paperback 978-0-9849518-8-8
Ver. 09212013
Library of Congress Control Number 2013950312
Copyright
[Print edition]
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Published by Cedar Coast Press, LLC
www.cedarcoastpress.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
MONA LISA EYES
Copyright © 2013 by M.D. Grayson. All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Cover design by M.D. Grayson
Cover art:
Copyright © iStockPhoto # 11372900 Beautiful Young Woman by Juan Monino Copyright © iStockPhoto # 12134520 Night Paradise by Da-Kuk
"I Thought of You" by Jane Rose Gilbertson, used with permission of author. Thanks, Jane.
ISBN– eBook 978-0-9849518-7-1
ISBN–Paperback 978-0-9849518-8-8
Ver. 09212013
Library of Congress Contr
ol Number 2013950312
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Author
M.D. Grayson is the author of the Danny Logan mystery series including (so far) Angel Dance, No Way to Die, Isabel’s Run, and now, Mona Lisa Eyes. He lives on an island near Seattle with his wife, Michelle, and their three German Shepherds.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Mr. Grayson worked in the construction industry, as an accountant for six l-o-n-g weeks (square peg—round hole), and as a piano player on the Las Vegas strip. When he’s not writing, he loves zooming about on two wheels—bicycles and motorcycles alike. In addition, he’s a pilot, a boater, and an accomplished musician—always ready for a jam session!
Connect Online:
Blog: http://www.mdgrayson.com.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/md_grayson
Facebook: http://facebook.com/mdgraysonauthorpage
Other Books by M.D. Grayson
In the Danny Logan series debut, beautiful Seattle business heiress Gina Fiore has vanished without a trace. Desperate for help, her family turns to Danny Logan, Gina’s former boyfriend, to find her and bring her home safely. Logan is a fifth-generation Seattle native who owns Logan Private Investigations. Along with his associates Antoinette “Toni” Blair, Kenny Hale, and Joaquin Kiahtel, he accepts the case and begins the hunt for Gina.
Logan and his team dig for clues and soon find that they’re not the only ones looking for Gina. The Tijuana-Mendez drug cartel is keenly interested in her whereabouts, as is the Calabria crime family from Chicago. The race is on to locate Gina—the stakes could not be higher. In order to prevail, Logan’s going to need all the skill and luck he can gather, and he’s going to need to confront the unresolved feelings he still has for Gina— feelings that might just get him killed!
Other Books by M.D. Grayson
Why would renowned mathematician Thomas Rasmussen drive to Discovery Park at six-thirty on a dark, rainy morning, put a .357 magnum to his head and pull the trigger? The police say the evidence is conclusive - it was definitely a suicide. But that made no sense to his wife, Katherine. Thomas had everything to live for. So she did what people in Seattle do when they need help on matters such as these. She turned to Danny Logan and Logan Private Investigations for answers.
Logan, along with his associates Antoinette "Toni" Blair, Joaquin "Doc" Kiahtel, and Kenny Hale roll into action, determined to find out what really happened. Did Thomas die by his own hand? Or was he murdered? Either way: why? The answer to these questions would only be found at the end of a trail full of lies, conflicting evidence, and extreme danger. But one thing was certain: alone in a car in a dark parking lot in the rain is No Way to Die.
Other Books by M.D. Grayson
When danger comes lurking in the night, most people run home and hide—safe behind a locked door. For others, though, running home isn't the answer. For these unlucky ones, when the front door closes and locks at night—the horror's not locked outside. It's locked inside.
Isabel Delgado knows all about horror. For nearly five years, her step-father subjects her to the kind of abuse and depravation that no child should ever have to endure. But Isabel survives. Her spirit is strong and she never gives up hope. On the morning of her 16th birthday, Isabel takes a stand. She wakes early, gathers her things in a school backpack, and with a last look behind, she runs. But Isabel's not prepared for what she finds.
In the third Danny Logan mystery novel, Danny Logan and the entire team at Logan PI–"Toni" Blair, Kenny Hale, and "Doc" Kiahtel—are back for their most exciting and most important adventure yet. Their mission—find Isabel and rescue her from the street gangs and the seething cauldron of teenage prostitution and human trafficking.
Logan Gear
We've teamed up with CafePress to bring you a variety of attractive Logan PI gear - shirts, cups, mugs, water bottles, aprons, etc. Check out our Logan PI store at:
http://www.cafepress.com/mdgrayson
About the Publisher
http://www.cedarcoastpress.com
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Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110-2648
Mona Lisa Eyes (Danny Logan Mystery #4) Page 34
