The Good Son (26 page)

And then I waited.

The quotation on Elaine's gravestone comes from Pascal's
Pensees
. Blame six years of studying philosophy at the University of Dundee.

Any errors in fact, procedure or history are mine. Most of them were made in the name of that old fiction writer's standby,
dramatic necessity
. Or at least that's the story I'm sticking to. Anything that's accurate, chalk it up to contributions from any one of the following:

 

Dot and Martin McLean:
My parents. If I listed all the reasons why, we'd have to publish a whole other book.

 

Allan Guthrie:
Who stepped in when everything was looking hopeless. Agent, friend, and demented genius.

 

Ross Bradshaw:
For taking a chance on a debut crime novel and offering those final suggestions that helped smooth it all out: thank you.

 

Linda Landrigan; Jen Jordan; Gerald So; Kevin Burton Smith; Sarah Weinman; Jon Jordan; Ruth Jordan; Sandra Ruttan; Bryon Quertermous:
All helped me develop my work in print and on the web.

 

Charlie Stella; Ray Banks; Adam Roberts; Martin McLean
(
again!
): All took the time to read early drafts and point out the flaws, the idiocy and even the bits that worked.

 

Robert Simon MacDuff-Duncan; Steven Wicks; Jim Smith; Peter Heims:
All answered questions over the last four years (some of them probably won't even remember) regarding police work, the differences between Scots and English law, and the life of the PI.

 

Rebecca Simpson; Gary and Kim Smith; Tim Stephen; Donna Moore; Dave White; Lesley Nimmo; Kevin Wignall; Steven Torres; Sean Chercover; The Gone-but-not-forgotten Blue and Red Shirts from the Bookworld days; my friends from Ottakars
…
and now Waterstones; anyone who feels I missed them out (there will be a few; I've got the memory of a goldfish):
for moral support, the occasional kick in the arse, and many, many drinks to see me through long evenings. Thanks, guys.

 

And in memory of:

 

Issy Rose, 1953-2008