Don't Look Behind You and Other True Cases (43 page)

My deep gratitude to: Gypsy Tarricone, Gina Tarricone, Claire Evans, Dean Tarricone, Rosemary Tarricone, Ben Benson, Denny Wood, Dawn Farina, Mark Lindquist, Marjean Denison, Rhonda Miller, Diane Benson, Curtis Wright, Jan Rhodes, Bill Haglund, Jerry Burger, Travis Haney, and Matt Haney.

And to: Ty Hansen, Nicole Hansen, Kathleen and Jeff Huget, Cindy Tyler Wilkinson, Patricia Martin, Duncan Bonjorni, King County detective sergeant Jim Allen, deputy prosecutor Jeff Baird, LaVonne and Marvin Milosevich, Barbara Kuehne Snyder, Chris Hansen, King County captain Frank Adamson, and profilers John Douglas and John Kelly.

I learned the ins and outs of included cases from King County sheriff’s detectives DuWayne Harrison, Dan Nolan, Ben Colwell, Bob Schmitz, and James McGonagle, and sheriff’s divers George Zimmerman and Joseph Dollinger. Seattle police detective Joyce Johnson, an expert on sexually motivated crimes, taught me the ropes when I was a young rookie. She and Bill Fenkner, along with Edmonds Police detective Marian McCann, caught a serial rapist who believed he was invincible.

Thanks once again to Gerry Brittingham Hay, my designated first reader, and tender critic.

And blessings to Andy, Lindsay, Laura, Rebecca, Matt, Miya Dawn, and Amari Violet, Leslie, Mike, Marie, Holland Rae, and Bruce, Machell, Olivia, Tyra, and Logan. I love you all very much.

Keep a-goin’ to Donna Anders, Kate Jewell, Shirley Hickman, Sue Harms, and Barb Thompson, who have all proved that starting over and succeeding is possible if you believe in yourself. I’m proud to have you as friends! To the Boeing Ladies Who Lunch, and the forever young Jolly Matrons.

For Pat Kelly, Matt Parker, and Mike Morrow. Just Because.

To my ARFs (self-declared Ann Rule Fans): I love and appreciate all of you!

I always thank my lifetime literary agents, Joan and Joe Foley—who have been with me for many decades—because they deserve my sincere appreciation, as does my theatrical agent, Ron Bernstein of International Creative Management!

To the gang at Waters and Wood who demolished my kitchen and living room and then remodeled them to rooms more beautiful than I could have imagined. The remodel and this book ended on the same day! Thanks to Bryan Christensen, Bryce Salzman, Eric Hamilton, Mark Rice and his second-in-command, Dan, Mark Kerkof, Francisco Diaz, Dave Myers, John Edwards, Bobbi Fritcher, Tara Foster, and Joy Mitchell!

And when I say, “I couldn’t have done this without them,” I mean my treasured team at Pocket Books: my publisher, Louise Burke; my editor, Mitchell Ivers, and his able assistant, Natasha Simons. The production crew keeps me on time and accurate, even when I keep thinking I need a vacation! They are production manager Liangela Cabrera, production editor Stephen Llano, managing editor Sally Franklin, copyeditor Ela Schwartz, proofreaders Adrian C. James, Wendy Warren Keebler, and Laura Cherkas, and book designer Meghan Day Healey.

NORTH TO ALASKA

Joe Tarricone had a thriving meat sales and delivery business that took him all over Alaska. His clients were glad to see him. He was a gregarious man and his life was good until he met a pretty and seductive younger woman.

Joe Tarricone at about 10. He’s standing with his two sisters perched on the running board of their family’s new car in the thirties. The Tarricones lived in New York, and they were a typical loving Italian family. Born in 1925, Joe was the oldest child and only son. He would always keep in touch with his parents no matter how far he roamed.

Joe and Rose fell in love when they were in their teens in the forties. Even though Rose was not Catholic, there was no question that they would marry one day.

Joe Tarricone in 1953, when he was 28. He’s wearing a “loafer jacket,” very fashionable for men in the fifties.

Rose and Joe on their honeymoon. She was sweet and pretty and wore her hair in a “Betty Grable” pompadour. Joe was handsome. The future stretched brightly ahead of them, and they were anxious to have children. Joe was a man with itchy feet, and Rose wanted a home in one place, but they didn’t think about that then.

A teenage Joe Tarricone with his parents at a beach cottage in New York State.

Rose and Joe pose in a photo booth where pictures were four for a dollar. They had a lot of fun together and were so in love.

Joe Tarricone was a great cook and his fellow soldiers appreciated the meals he prepared. He loved to cook as a civilian, too, and devised a way to make giant pizzas for his whole neighborhood.

A very young couple—Joe and Rose Tarricone with their firstborn, their daughter Claire. Joe loved being a father and was thrilled when each of his seven children was born.