Shunning Sarah (32 page)

He was not just a pig. He was stupid. There’s nothing I hate more than working for a stupid boss. “You can’t claim privacy to break the law. Besides, that conversation belonged to Nicole just as much as you.” I pushed the telephone toward him with a dare. “Call Miles if you don’t believe me.”

Bryce didn’t move. And I didn’t want our meeting to drag on, so we gave him our terms for not ratting him out.

No more one-man bands.

Warm water in the ladies’ room.

“And one last thing,” I said. “Since you’ve proven you can’t be trusted around women, no office walls. The glass has to go back up so we can keep an eye on you.”

The disadvantage was that we’d have to look at him.

My editor, Emily Bestler, made
Shunning Sarah
better by encouraging me to find a new ending to the novel. Sometimes authors are so close to a story they can’t tell whether their endings are brilliant or over-the-top. As for my readers, if you want to know what the original ending was, ask me sometime. But read the book first. So thanks, Emily—I’m proud to be an Emily Bestler book.

Special thanks also to her editorial assistant Caroline Porter for handling the numerous tasks required to get a book into print. It’s all in the details. My list of gratitude for all the things from production to art to publicity to marketing to sales to copyediting also includes Kate Cetrulo, Mellony Torres, Hillary Tisman, Judith Curr, Chris Lloreda, Jeanne Lee, James Pervin, Andy Goldwasser, Susan Rella, Bryan Miltenberg, James Walsh, and John Wahler. And danke to Isolde Sauer, who improved the German in Sarah’s diary besides directing the copyediting process.

My agent, Susan Ginsburg from Writers House, also deserves particular recognition for keeping me calm during the current publishing storm. Her assistant, Stacy Testa, is helpful and humorous.

My faithful beta readers—Kevyn Burger, Trish Van Pilsum, and Caroline Lowe—see the manuscript first and are all excellent
storytellers themselves with wonderful advice about dialogue and plot. After all, there’s a little bit of each of them in my protagonist.

For real-life research, I am grateful to Jerry Youngkin at the Amish Bed and Breakfast near Canton, MN, for allowing me to live like the Amish overnight. I encourage everyone to stay there; to Richard Scrabeck of Amish Tours of Harmony for his insight around the plain countryside. My favorite part of researching this novel involved visiting local farms and buying Amish baskets, quilted potholders, and cashew crunch. Thanks also to Lynn Rogers of the North American Bear Center for sharing his knowledge and passion about black bears. If you’ve never seen his live bear den cameras, check out his website at
www.bear.org
. As always, no one knows murder like Vernon Geberth, author of
Practical Homicide Investigation;
and no one has more patience with my forensic problems than Dr. D. P. (Doug) Lyle, author of
More Forensics and Fiction;
Sue Senden shared her secrets to being a forensic artist; Wanda Brunstetter, author of numerous bestselling Amish novels, was generous in guiding me on the difference between German and Pennsylvania Dutch; WCCO-TV photo chief Bill Kruskop kept me up to date about the latest in television news cameras.

Various relatives have become accustomed to seeing their names in the back of my books, and it’s probably too late to change that tradition without some pouting on their part, so here’s the list: Ruth Kramer; Mike Kramer; Bonnie and Roy Brang; Teresa, Galen, and Rachel Neuzil; Richard and Oti Kramer; Mary Kramer; Steve and Mary Kay Kramer, along with Matthew and Elizabeth; Kathy, Jim, with Adriana and Zach Loecher; Christina Kramer; Jerry and Elaine Kramer; Mae Klug; George and Shirley Kimball; George Kimball, Shen Fei with Shi Shenyu; Nick Kimball and Gannet Tseggai; Jenny, Kile, with Daniel Nadeau; Jessica, Richie with Lucy Miehe; Becca and Seth Engberg; David and Alyssa Nadeau; Mary, Dave with Davin Benson;
Steve Kimball with Craig and Shaela; James Kimball; Paul Kimball; and numerous far-flung cousins and other kin.

The life of an author might be lonely without family. I’m thankful for mine: the boys—Alex Kimball and Andrew Kimball—for thriving, at college and soon the world; Joey and David Kimdon for raising Aria and Arbor, a delightful pair; Katie and Jake Kimball as they welcome Barlow, our newest reader home to Minnesota.

I’m especially fortunate for the love of Joe, my soul mate, and glad to be empty nesters together.

ALSO BY JULIE KRAMER

Killing Kate

Silencing Sam

Missing Mark

Stalking Susan

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 by Julie Kramer

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Emily Bestler Books/Atria Books hardcover edition August 2012

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kramer, Julie.

Shunning Sarah: a novel / by Julie Kramer.—1st Emily Bestler Books/Atria Books hardcover ed.

p.   cm.

1. Spartz, Riley (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women television journalists—Fiction. 3. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. 4. Amish—Fiction.

I. Title.

PS3611.R355S5 2012

813’.6—dc23

2012011246

ISBN 978-1-4516-6463-8

ISBN 978-1-4516-6465-2 (eBook)