Ghost Image (30 page)

“Thank you, Kevin. I know you're watching,” he said with a broad smile. “I do believe we've found Mr. Jefferson's seeds.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T
he characters in
Ghost Image
are all fictitious creations invented for this story, with the obvious exception of historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Pierre L'Enfant, Lewis and Clark, Dolley Madison, John Fairbairn, and the members of the McMillan Commission, though I have also used those individuals fictitiously. Any resemblance to any living person is entirely coincidental and unintentional. Francis Pembroke and Senator Francis Quincy never existed and there was no seed cabinet left behind in the White House by Thomas Jefferson.

The idea for
Ghost Image
came about after I heard an NPR book review of Andrea Wulf's
The Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation
(Vintage Books), a page-turning account of the Founding Fathers' obsession with gardening, seed collecting, and farming, and the impact their passion had on shaping our country. Shortly afterward I read an article in the June 2012 issue of
Smithsonian
called “Seeds of the Future” on the work of the Mil
lennium Seed Bank in England, which subsequently led to a conversation with Mark Verrilli, a landscaper friend with Pleasant Valley Landscapes in Aldie, Virginia, about whether it might be possible to germinate seeds that were hundreds of years old.

I was fortunate to have considerable help with this book from many people who took time out of busy schedules to answer my questions. As usual, if something is wrong, that's on me. In America I owe thanks to the following people: Scott W. Berg, author of
Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C.
(Vintage Books), for sitting down over breakfast and talking to me about Pierre L'Enfant until it was nearly lunchtime; Rick Tagg, winemaker at Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, Virginia, for his help and knowledge of herbs; George Thuronyi, Copyright Division, and Jennifer Harbster, Science, Technology and Business Division of the Library of Congress; Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants, and Mary Scott-Fleming, Director of Enrichment Programs at Monticello; Dr. Martin Gammon, Vice President of Business Development and Museum Relations, Bonhams (and a regular appraiser of rare books and manuscripts for PBS's
Antiques Roadshow
); Detective Jim Smith, Crime Scene Section, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department; as well as Dr. Carmella Moody and Rosemarie Forsythe, who made numerous constructive comments and offered advice. Also thanks to a few anonymous people who answered questions relating to Nick's intelligence career, as well as several individuals who were my resources for religious matters: You know who you are.

In England, thanks to John and Jackie Briggs, my former neighbors, who fed me and gave me a place to stay when I was in London. I also am grateful to Kay Pennick, Librarian, and Dr. John Dickie, Head of Information Section, Seed Conservation Department, at the Millennium Seed Bank; Christopher Bailes, Curator, Chelsea Physic Garden; Anna Christodoulou, the Connaught; and finally to Andrea Wulf, for meeting me for
breakfast in London in between taping a show for the BBC to discuss
The Founding Gardeners
and offer suggestions and help, including her idea to invent a White House seed cabinet that belonged to Thomas Jefferson.

Several books, in addition to
The Founding Gardeners
and
Grand Avenues
, were helpful:
The Creation of Washington, D.C.: The Idea and Location of the American Capital
by Kenneth R. Bowling (George Mason University Press);
The Apothecaries' Garden: A History of the Chelsea Physic Garden
by Sue Minter (History Press, UK);
Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape
by Kirk Savage (University of California Press);
“A Rich Spot of Earth”: Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello
by Peter J. Hatch (Yale University Press); and
The Last Great Plant Hunt: The Story of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank
by Carolyn Fry, Sue Seddon, and Gail Vines (Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK).

Heartfelt thanks to my critique group friends and fellow authors: Donna Andrews, John Gilstrap, Alan Orloff, and Art Taylor, affectionately known as the Rumpus Group, for considerable help with many drafts of this book. As always, my dear friend Tom Snyder read the first draft (and the ones that followed) with a keen eye and a sharp blue pencil.

At Scribner, thanks to Katrina Diaz, my editor, and to Susan Moldow; also to Alexsis Johnson, my publicist, and Katie Rizzo and Cynthia Merman for copy editing. I am especially indebted to Maggie Crawford for editorial help and guidance.

Finally, thanks and love to Dominick Abel, my agent. Last, but by no means least, I am grateful to my sons and daughters-in-law, but most especially to my husband, André de Nesnera, for more in my heart than I can possibly express. None of this would be possible without you, my love.

Photo Credit: Jackie Briggs

ALSO BY ELLEN CROSBY

The Sophie Medina Mysteries

Multiple Exposure

The Wine Country Mysteries

The Sauvignon Secret

The Viognier Vendetta

The Riesling Retribution

The Bordeaux Betrayal

The Chardonnay Charade

The Merlot Murders

Moscow Nights

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 by Ellen Crosby

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First Scribner hardcover edition April 2015

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Interior design by Jill Putorti

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Jacket photographs: Woman photographer © Milan Darula/E+/Getty Images,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Crosby, Ellen.

  Ghost image : a Sophie Medina mystery / Ellen Crosby. — First Scribner ­hardcover edition.

       pages ; cm. —(Sophie Medina ; [2])

  1. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. 2. Washington (D.C.)—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3603.R668G48 2015

  813'.6—dc23>      2014040750

ISBN 978-1-4516-5937-5

ISBN 978-1-4516-5944-3 (ebook)