Expert Interviews: Suzy Owens, Detective in the Ames, Iowa, Police Department

Mom, college counselor, teacher, zookeeper, police detecive

In the mid-1980s, when I was teaching high school English, I formed a friendship with a remarkable woman who had four daughters. I used to think of her girls as Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, except none of them died young like Beth March, thank goodness. I taught all four of them, and they were all intelligent, interesting, strong women. My friendship with their mother survived my teaching time with her daughters, despite reading their essays about how all four teenagers shared a bathroom, and the family's junk closet, whose door kept in a multitude of items just dying to fall out. Because their mom is so strong, all four of her daughters are amazing, grown-up moms and professionals in various jobs. All graduated from college and all went in four different directions (an eventuality I could have predicted since they were all so different.) They became a college counselor, teacher, zookeeper, and police detective.

Notice that last profession? Ah ha! I

haven't needed the other three professionals as experts yet, but if I ever have a mystery set in a college, a private school, or a zoo, I'll be set. The fourth daughter, Suzy, became a policewoman and, later, detective in Ames, Iowa. I guess this didn't surprise me since her father was a detective in Illinois during his professional career. But, strangely, Ms. Owens didn't attribute her interest in the criminal justice system to her father. What also surprised me was that Suzy was the youngest, tiniest, and most freckles-on-her-nose daughter. I have a hard time seeing her in a Kevlar vest, toting a gun. But she is.

Recently, I wrote a crime scene for my second mystery, and I passed it by Detective Owens so she could tell me how a detective would look at it versus how an author might write it. This resulted in two weeks and four re-writes. I would like to think she got no satisfaction whatsoever in asking her former English teacher to

"re-write until it's perfect," a phrase I seem to vaguely remember from my teaching conversations with her years ago.

I interviewed Detective Owens for my blog, and these were her answers:

Q: How did you happen to get into this line of work?
A: I didn't plan on being a police officer when I graduated from college. I thought I wanted to work with at-risk children. But I did an internship at the police department, loved it, and loved the people. They happened to be going through a hiring process and I was encouraged to apply. But I would really like to make this clear: I went into this work to make a positive difference in peoples' lives, not to drive fast cars and shoot guns.

Q: What are your credentials?
A: I have a BS in psychology with minors in criminal justice and Spanish from Iowa State University [1999.] I also graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy with peace officer certification [2000], and I have a Master's in criminal justice from Simpson College [2012.]

Q: What is your typical day like, or is there a typical day?
A: On patrol, I had a lot more variety in my day. But now, as a detective, I make and receive a lot of phone calls, do computer work and report writing, make

more phone calls, and have occasional

interviews. Sometimes my job entails search warrants, testifying in court, or processing a crime scene such as a recovered stolen vehicle or a burglary scene.

Q: What is the most frustrating part of your job?

A: I guess the most frustrating thing

might be the fact that many times there is not a doubt that the suspect has committed the crime, but I don't have the evidence to charge. This is especially true in cases of sexual violence, for both women and children, where the public opinion can lead to stereotyping and doubt toward the victim. If I do have probable cause to charge, it will be another frustrating road trying to get the victim's story told, with no real protections from the law. The defendants get all sorts of protections, while the victims have very few.

Q: How do you do this work--homicide and sexually-based crime work--without getting emotionally upset?
A: I make sure I have healthy outlets for stress: exercise, talking to others, stepping away from it all as needed. Sometimes I get emotional, but realize I'm just a small part in the whole process, and I have to tell myself to do the best in my role.

Q: What kinds of crimes bother you the most?
A: Sex offenses, with domestic violence a close second. These cases have such a stigma, and it is so hard to move forward with judges and juries.



Obviously, I couldn't go into great detail with Suzy about the various cases she's worked, but from her answers I find it clear that she is neck-deep in the kind of work with which I have no experience

from my own career. This makes her a sensational expert for my mysteries. I can reseach, read cases, and check out books from my local coroner, but having first-hand experience nearby is a wonderful consequence of teaching for so many years. Thank you, Detective Suzy Owens, for being there when I have questions, and especially for not laughing when they are stupid questions.

They obviously take their work seriously.
Detective Owens is second from the right.

Expert Interviews: John Cratty, Former Monmouth Fire Chief

Following the interview with our local Police Chief, I next went to the fire department. I use a lot of book research in my mysteries, but talking with experts is really helpful in getting the details right.

I interviewed Chief John Cratty in 2011 when he was the Fire Chief of our little town of 10,000. His work in fire departments encompasses 33 years. Before coming to Monmouth, he began his career in my home town. There, in Galesburg, Illinois, Chief Cratty worked for 31 years as a firefighter, captain, assistant chief, and fire chief (the latter from 1994-2009.) In 2010, he was named Fire Chief in Monmouth, and he held that post for two years before he went on to the position of City Administrator. It's obvious that public service is in his blood.

I was particularly interested in the fact that Chief Cratty had been an investigator with the fire departments because information about why fires start and how they spread was central to writing my mystery, Three May Keep a Secret, coming out in November, 2014.

Besides asking Chief Cratty for specific information, I also had him read a description in my mystery and tell me if it sounded accurate.

We met at the north fire station in town, and I was able to see the forty pounds of equipment the firefighters wear, and the facilities and trucks they use.

I asked Chief Cratty about three areas that were crucial to getting the facts right in my novel: (a) What happens when small towns like Monmouth have house fires in the country? (b) How would such a fire-fighting scene look? (c) What are some of the basics of fire investigation?

He explained that small fire departments cooperate when a fire breaks out in the

country on a farm or in a family home. The various departments have mutual aid agreements and the dispatcher who receives the call about a fire will know what district the fire is in and "drop" the alarm. Volunteer firemen and off-duty firemen have cell phones that get automatic texts or audio pagers that alert them about such a fire. Each department responds to the location, but the first department that arrives takes charge. Then the Chief of that department can continue being in command or he can let the Chief whose jurisdiction the fire is in take charge. A "box card" is also available for the fire location so the Chief can check what equipment is coming and what is available. The various departments have quarterly meetings to share training and update information.

Because my mystery takes place in the small town of Endurance, I needed to know how this works. In my mystery, a fire breaks out in a home a few miles from town. TJ Sweeney, police detective, goes to the fire, and I needed to be able to describe what she saw when she arrives that night.

Chief Cratty told me that, when going to a fire, life safety is the number one concern. Their second concern is saving

property. They set up the trucks with the engines going, water hoses on the fire. Then the firemen go inside, trying to "push" the fire out. Pushing the fire includes cooling it with water while trying to drive the fire out openings like doors and windows from the inside of the house. This makes more sense than pushing the fire from outside the house to other areas of the house that are not on fire. If it's a highly offensive fire, they try to save property. If it is a defensive fire they try to contain it from other "exposures" (buildings.)

He gave the example that if they get to a fire and see flames in the first floor rooms, and the front and side windows are in flames, two people can go in with one hose and push 150-200 gallons of water per minute on the fire. They work in teams and the Chief keeps track of who is where and which team is at which location. Sometimes they need to call the gas company if they need to disconnect gas, and then they can lose minutes of time waiting for that disconnection.

The individual firefighters' masks have transmitters so they have radio

communication to the command center on one channel (dispatch frequency) and communication to the other men on another channel (fire ground frequency.) In the end, the Chief has to decide whether to "salvage" (use tarps to cover furniture and keep out water damage), or "overhaul" (cut into the walls and ceilings to check the electrical switches and see if there is smoldering.)

Once the fire is contained and secondary flare-ups are put out, an investigation begins to determine the origin and cause of the fire. This can take days or weeks. The Monmouth Fire department can pinpoint

the origin. If there is a fatality, they notify the local and state police and the state fire marshal's office. In all fires, the MFD does the initial investigation and then shares the information with the insurance company. As far as the cause, they rule out many potential causes first. Lightning? Was the electricity off or on? Propane tanks? candles? Cigarette smoking? The origin is often easy to spot because of a vee ("V") pattern, sometimes on wood trim. The deepest char has burned the longest, and so that may be the start of the fire.

I asked specifically about arson. Chief Cratty said that this kind of fire is usually very aggressive, and if it has multiple spots of origin, it is often from a gasoline pour. A reverse pour means the arsonist puts gasoline in various spots and lights one or more, hoping all will catch fire eventually. The heat from the fire can cause carpet fibers to melt, and if some of the spots with fuel don't ignite it leaves a melted fiber pattern on the spot, and the odor of gasoline is still present for sampling.

All of this information was important to me because fire is a huge ingredient in my novel. Fire is a key part of both character development and the plot. Before speaking to Chief Cratty, I had done quite a bit of book research on fires and arson, but I didn't know exactly how small town fire stations operated. Former Chief Cratty was an excellent source of information to make sure my novel's fire details were accurate.

Reviewing James Montgomery Jackson's "Cabin Fever"

I'm taking a brief break from interviewing my expert sources today to add a review of a great thriller I just finished called Cabin Fever. I was honored to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of Jim's book which is coming out April 8, 2014. I would strongly recommend it for people who enjoy thrillers and ridiculously cold weather.

James M. Jackson’s new thriller, Cabin Fever, grabs you in the first chapter and 

never lets you go. It is the second Seamus McCree book but it can be read as a stand-alone. His earlier book, Bad Policy (2013), is the first in the McCree series. Cabin Fever has many wonderful qualities, but I’d like to describe three: the setting, McCree’s character, and the non-stop plot.

You will shiver as you read this book because it is set in the upper peninsula of Michigan, a place Jackson knows well. Three feet of snow, minus four degrees, thick mud, your breath crystalizing in the wind, no cell phone coverage, and ten hours of daylight all add to the atmosphere of the novel. It is not a place for the faint of heart and it is quite isolated, a characteristic Seamus McCree desires. Added to the weather are gorgeous constellations in the night sky, black bears, loons, moose, wolves howling, snowmobiles, snow shoes, cross country skiing, and you have the world of Seamus McCree. But the isolation is top on the list. This setting works well with his plot because there are times McCree could use help, but the elements are working against him.

Why would a character go to a remote cabin in Michigan? Seamus goes there for peace and quiet after the thrilling, but scary events of his life in Cincinnati in Bad Policy. Now he just desires to be alone and figure out why he can’t keep love alive in his life. He just lost his girlfriend and is skittish about commitments. Part of this isolation comes from his father dying when Seamus was young and his mother turning into an emotionally remote parent. McCree is a problem solver, a very intelligent guy, a former financial examiner, and a great dad. He’s also physically tough when he needs to be. But right now he just wants peace and quiet.

James Montgomery Jackson

 This is not to be. Into his life comes a naked woman, unconscious on his front porch, in the middle of a blizzard. She is practically frozen, has an erratic heartbeat and shallow breathing, and she is suffering from hypothermia, frostbite, and a high fever. Once conscious, she has amnesia. To make matters worse, she has fresh rope burns on her wrists and ankles. Who is this woman and where did she come from? He can’t leave the cabin to ski for help because she might die while he is gone. He has no cell phone coverage so that won’t work either.

Meanwhile, a crazy paramilitary organization with a smart leader and keystone cop followers is looking for an escaped female prisoner. By the time Seamus does get help, the police suspect him, the paramilitary thugs are after him, and dead bodies begin to pile up.

This is a thriller of a plot with an amazing main character and a setting that works well with the plot and also parallels the inner life of Seamus McCree. I’d highly recommend it for people who love page-turning thrillers.

Expert Interviews: Police Chief Bill Feithen

While writing my mystery, Three May Keep a Secret, I enlisted the help of several experts who could teach me about dead bodies, guns, autopsies, and murder investigations. In all my years of living in Monmouth, Illinois (pop. 10,000), I've only talked once, briefly, with a police chief. For my murder mystery, I screwed up my courage and made an appointment to see the current Monmouth Chief of Police. I didn't want to waste his time or come across as an idiot when asking questions. So I prepared in advance with facts I specifically needed to know for my book. In this post, I will leave out a few of those facts. No spoilers.

Because I was interviewing experts, I needed to know they were, indeed, experts. Police Chief Bill Feithen has been the head man at the Monmouth Police Department since February, 2012.Chief Feithen not only has academic degrees in his chosen field, but he also has in-depth, applicable experience. He holds an Associate Degree in Law Enforcement from Kishwaukee College; a BA in Sociology and Criminology from Northern Illinois University; and a Masters in Public Administration, also from NIU. Prior to coming to Monmouth, he worked his way up from patrolman to sergeant to lieutenant and, finally, chief of police in the Dekalb Police Department. He held these various positions from 1975 to 2012. Feithen has had experience in patrol, investigations, and administration. The Police Chief has been heavily involved in community activities, and he belongs to so many professional organizations that I'd have to write another post just to list them all.

When I interviewed Chief Feithen in August, 2012, I was half done with my book, but I needed to find out information I didn't know and verify details I'd already written. I asked for his expert advice in four areas: cold case files and evidence, identification of bodies, gun identification, and police procedure. Here is an abbreviated version of some of those questions and his answers.

What is the diference between case files from the past and case files from today?
     (It was important for me to know this because of plot details in my book.) Chief Feithen said evidence today is better preserved than it used to be. Evidence bags in the past were often paper, while

today police use both paper and plastic. Sometimes evidence has to "breathe;" hence, plastic. Today, blood evidence is dried before packaging. Since DNA is now a tool for law enforcement, envelopes with flaps someone has licked are put in an evidence bag. Today, handwritten notes are bagged so they can be checked for fingerprints and the contents examined. Sometimes handwritten notes are "fumed" to bring out the fingerprints. Older cold case files have black and white photos, and some might have Polaroids that have deteriorated over time. Lab tests would be included both today and in the past, but today's tests are, of course, much more sophisticated.

I had done some online research before I asked him about the old cold case files in my novel. I had included the medical examiner's report, witness interviews, task force meeting notes, detective notes, newspaper articles, photographs, lab reports, and objects from the scene.He verified those contents and added a few additional items. He also added that cold case files would have to be preserved well.Maybe they were in a basement and got damaged in a flood, or they were in an office and somehow got misplaced, perhaps during a move to a new office. Back in earlier decades, evidence wasn't always well preserved, especially in smaller town police departments.

Years ago police departments were not required to keep evidence beyond a certain point, and they routinely purged

when a case was done. They didn't have as much guidance from the courts as departments have today. In Illinois, today, the evidence in certain cases, expecially in major crimes, is kept forever. This is always true of Class X or higher cases. But once the statue of limitations has ended for more minor cases or all appeals are over, evidence is routinely purged. The courts, as well as the State's Attorney's office, give guidance today on the status of cases and when to throw out evidence. In my book, my cold case file was kept because of the nature of the crime.

How are bodies identified?
Today it's much easier because we have DNA and fingerprint databases and a huge

amount of material at our fingertips. But decades ago, they didn't have DNA, and they had fingerprints on hard copy cards. Often there were no dental records. The police would have gone to the relatives of a victim and asked them for doctors' names or operations the victim had in hospitals. Often broken bones, scars, or deformities would be markers for identification. 

How do you identify gun owners? 
Today the police trace gun ownership from the manufacturer to the retailer to the customer. Current retailers are required to keep records for ten years on

gun purchases. Even private sellers must keep a record of buyers. If a gun is used in a crime, the police can often trace the serial number. The number is on different parts of the gun, depending on the gun maker. And what if a criminal tries to destroy the identification number of a gun? Labs can sometimes raise numbers if a criminal tries to grind them down.

Police Procedure: In a homicide, who would be called in to assist?
Usually a state evidence team and additional detectives from the state police, Galesburg, and Macomb. Also a CSI team would be called. They would form a homicide task force or major case squad. If a bomb is involved, the ATF, or another federal agency, might be called in. Chief Feithen was police chief in Dekalb, Illinois, during the multiple shootings at NIU which killed five students and injured twenty-one more on February 14, 2008. He said that crime involved a student from the University of Illinois. The Dekalb Police Department was assisted by the Champaign police as Dekalb detectives spoke to individuals in the Champaign area whom they wanted to interview about the suspect.

[I have a feeling being Police Chief in Monmouth is a bit less stressful than being Chief in Dekalb.]

Then I asked him...well, no, I can't tell you that because you might figure out whodunit in my book. You'll have to wait until it comes out in November. 

Chief Feithen is an intelligent, experienced person, and he answered my questions about murder with a directness and frankness that would do my fictional Endurance Police Chief proud. I think the Monmouth community is fortunate to have him in this office, and I look forward to asking him more questions down the road. This is one of the great advantages to living in a small town, writing a small town murder mystery, and having helpful experts just a few blocks or a phone call away.

Do You Want to Use a Lifeline and Call an Expert? Here's How

My first mystery, Three May Keep a Secret, is coming out this November from Five Star Publishing. Notice the word "first" in that sentence. Over the past two years, I have had many "firsts" in writing this mystery. One of those was getting up my nerve to call and make an appointment to talk with experts whose professions involve crime, dead bodies, and fires. After all, I really didn't have a mystery published yet. At the time I needed their help, I was a retired English teacher dabbling in the world of crime. What did I know? 

I'm lucky to live in a small town of 10,000 in west central Illinois, and my book takes place in just such a town. Talking with experts who deal with small town crime is much more helpful than speaking with someone, say, who works in urban areas. This made it a little less scary to call for that appointment. However, if you're a "big city" person, the same interview basics apply.

If you are contemplating expert inteviews, just keep in mind that the worst these experts can say is "no." However, none of mine did. People seem to love talking about their work, and it is always flattering when someone asks you for advice. So, screw up your courage and call or email. Then, once they've said "yes" and your legs have stopped shaking, start thinking about the interview. Perhaps my thoughts can help you with this process.

Preparation. In preparing for the interview, I try to remember I am a writer interviewing experts. So first I need to act in a professional manner. I do my homework by choosing the professionals I need and researching their credentials for experience and expertise.

Do I interview the expert while I am writing my novel or before the area where I need expert help? I've done both, and sometimes after I've written a scene, I take it to the interview and ask the expert if it is realistic. This was true, for example, when I wrote a scene about being in a fire. Fortunately, I've never been there, but the Fire Chief said I imagined it quite realistically.

I call early or email, and set the date, time, and place that will work for both of us. In the case of the Police Chief and Fire Chief, I met them at their offices. My coroner and I met at a local coffee shop (love living in a small town!) My police detective and I email, and we continue to do so every time I have a question. Also, I make sure to leave a contact number in case the designated interview falls through. After all, with these kinds of experts an emergency might develop quickly.

It's very important to go to the interview

with questions I want to ask so I won't waste their time or mine. Let's consider the Police Chief. First, I want to ask general questions. For example, I asked about cold case files. What might be in them? Would the contents be different in the 1960's compared to today? I also ask very specific questions about weapons, procedures, or criminal thinking. I asked about destroying the number on a gun. My questions might also verify plot points I've written or am thinking about. I asked my coroner about post mortem lab tests. Who orders them? Is there always an inquest? How has the law changed regarding inquests? I can also ask my expert if a particular plot twist or fact is possible or realistic. Often they have amazing stores of their own that are true but sound stranger than fiction.

The day of the interview, I arrive early. Believe me, you can cut down on anxiety if you plan to arrive early, covering all possibilities including traffic. I bring my questions with plenty of room to take

notes. I also like to take a small recorder, but I always ask the person being interviewed if he is fine with being recorded. Usually, he appreciates the fact that I am trying to be very accurate. I like recording an interview because if I'm writing down answers I'm not thinking as quickly about follow-up questions. I write down something I want to go back to or information I need to emphasize. I take brief notes but mostly I listen and think. Often my source will give me other resources--people I can interview that might be helpful. My coroner also loaned me books that explained crime scenes, procedures, and the condition of the victims' bodies in various kinds of deaths. Made for great, late-night reading.

Listen carefully during interviews. Many of the answers will lead you in new directions. Don't be afraid to throw in a question you hadn't intended to ask.

The last thing in the interview is an

exchange of business cards. I always ask the expert if I may call or email if another question comes up. Often I need to clarify one of his answers or my understanding of it. This works quite successfully.

After the interview, I type the information, along with my thoughts and reactions. I do this immediately while the ideas are fresh in my mind. I also generally write a "thank you" note or email to thank the expert for his time and help. If he has given me a great deal of help, I acknowledge him in my book.

Coming up next: A discussion of my interview with our local Police Chief, Bill Feithen.

Expert Sources: The Often Unsung Heroes of Mysteries

It's hard to believe that three weeks ago I was sitting in The Sugar Bowl in Old Town Scottsdale having lunch with Annette Mahon, enjoying the blue Arizona skies, and loving the mid-seventies temperatures. Annette is the author of five quilting mysteries about the St. Rose Quilting Bee group. Now, in early March, I'm looking out my living room window at the snow blanketing my Illinois yard and contemplating the zero temperatures.

At least the sky is blue. Today.

It always stirs my thoughts when I talk with other writers. Something Annette said caused me to consider the expert sources I use for my mysteries. She explained that the Scottsdale Police Department has a public relations person whom writers can call for answers to their police procedure questions. That thought stayed in my head for several days. The entire Phoenix/Scottsdale area is so huge that comparing it to my little town is ludicrous. I don't think we have a specific public relations person designated as "the one most likely to return calls to authors."

Annette and I are members of the Sisters in Crime Scottsdale chapter called Desert Sleuths, and at a recent meeting we heard a Phoenix police detective discuss the procedures used for arresting people in the metro area. The scenarios were quite different from those used in our little town. Needless to say, the severity

of the crimes differs considerably between Phoenix (pop. 4.3 million) and Monmouth, Illinois (pop. 10,000 on a good day.) One trip walking past the waiting room of a Mesa, Arizona emergency room told me that. Gun shots, stabbings, and domestic violence aside, those scenes are rare here in our little hamlet.

I remember thinking, "Gosh, I have such great experts I can call and have a sit-down, face-to-face, interview. It might cost me a cup of coffee, but I come away with amazing information that finds its way into my mysteries. While most of my experts have worked earlier in more populated places, they now deal with small town crime and police procedures. That's what I'm writing about, so I'm really fortunate to have these resources at my fingertips." Every expert I've interviewed in the past year has been pleasant, funny, professional, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable.

I also have secret weapons. Over my many high school teaching years, I came into contact with some 4,000 students. Many of them are now in positions where they have information I need. A quick

phone call: ("Really? You got a 'D' on that Moby Dick paper twenty-five years ago? What can I say? I was young and inexperienced. On the other hand, can you tell me...") The internet has made it speedier to contact these former students when their areas of expertise collide with information I need to know. Believe me, I'm not beneath calling in a few favors, just like my protagonist, retired teacher Grace Kimball.

Back in our town I must admit that as a first time mystery novelist I was a little worried about calling these "expert" people. What if they didn't want to talk to me? After all, I don't really have a murder mystery published yet. I'm just writing it and maybe I won't find a publisher. Then I had one of "those talks."

"What's the worst thing they can say?"

"No."

"So, they say 'no.' That just means you go to Plan B, right?"

"Right. And Plan B is?"

As it turned out, I discovered that people are very pleased, enthusiastic, and flattered to talk about their work. Here I

am, a novelist who used to be an English teacher, and who knows nothing about bullets, dead bodies, or arrest warrants, but I'm learning fast. Yes, I've done my research from books on these topics, but the real expert is so much more informative. Believe me, people who are police officers or coroners are happy to fill me in on those details--especially the grizzly ones--and I'm happy to give them credit for doing so. Readers today call authors out when they see errors in crime procedures so it pays to be accurate. So far no expert has turned me down, and each has been amazing at clarifying answers to my questions and making suggestions that I might not have considered.

These unsung heroes are going to be the subjects of several blog posts over the next few weeks. I plan to begin with a post about how an author might go about preparing and doing an interview when working with expert sources. Then I'll follow up with descriptions of the experts I used and the kinds of information I gained from talking with them. I'll discuss "my" police chief, fire chief, coroner, and police detective. I know it doesn't have quite the lilt or alliteration of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but it works for me.

Seeking Mr. Connelly

It's been four years since I set out to see crime writer Michael Connelly at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale. The creator of Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller, Connelly has generally launched his new books from here. Since he's written twenty-six novels, you'd

think I would have caught him sometime. But no. He's always here when I'm not. This year I laid my plans to be here ahead of him, and I succeeded.

Connelly has a new book called The Gods of Guilt. It's a Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller) book and he's just

starting a tour to discuss it and sign copies. He spoke to an audience of several hundred people at the Arizona Biltmore last night (12/2) and was interviewed by Robert Anglen of the Arizona Republic. If you'd like to read an extension of that interview, check out this site: Anglen Interview.

The first Connelly book I read, years ago, was The Poet. I loved it. The story of a serial killer using clues from Edgar Allan Poe's writing, The Poet was a product of Connelly's crime reporting days working for newspapers. After that job in the early 90's, he became a writer full time and has written books primarily about two men: homicide detective Harry Bosch and defense lawyer Mickey Haller.

His new book, The Gods of Guilt, is the fifth Lincoln Lawyer book and it could be described as a character study. Mickey Haller is usually able to bend the law and use it to his advantage, but now, through a set of circumstances, he's dealing with an unhappy look back at his often shady legal career and what it has cost him. An attorney friend of Connelly's referred to a jury on a case he was discussing as "the gods of guilt" and it stuck with the author. But it refers to more than the jury in his new book. According to Connelly, lawyers leave law school with lots of noble ideals about the law, but Haller's stories show how lawyers handle cases and what really happens when they go to court. Not always a pretty picture.

An earlier Haller book, The Lincoln Lawyer, was made into a film starring Matthew McConaughey. Connelly was very complimentary about the job McConaughey did, but said the actor did not really resemble Heller physically, nor did Heller have a soft Southern accent.

Connelly's more heroic character is Harry Bosch who is easy to like because he is a good guy--a light going after and into darkness. I've always loved this character because he isn't perfect; he has his flaws and his darkness, much of it beginning as a tunnel rat in Viet Nam. Bosch is due to retire in 2015, but Connelly says that will not be the end of his stories. Yay!

The author is working on an exciting project with the Bosch series. Like Netflix with its new original programming, Amazon Prime is going to start creating its own original programming that you will be able to

Titus Welliver

see streamed on your computer. The new film, just shot, is being edited and stars Titus Welliver as Bosch. CBS This Morning did a story on this project and you can see it here. The new film is based on City of Bones and is being shot exclusively in Los Angeles. Connelly has total control over the project and he promises that Bosch fans will love this pilot.  He enthusiastically described a scene where the camera pans across the hills of LA and focuses on Boschs' house while the jazz piece, "Lullaby," plays in the background. The film is currently being edited.

One of the more unique stories of the night concerned how Connelly's interest in cops, police stations, and crime began. When he was 16 years old, he was working as a dishwasher in a restaurant. Driving home one night, he stopped at a red light and watched a teenager on the sidewalk take off his shirt and fold an object in it. He placed it in some bushes. Then, wearing his tee shirt, he left, and an intrigued Connelly followed him by car to a biker bar. Once the boy went inside, Connelly doubled back and checked the bushes: the object was a gun. He called his dad from a pay phone and asked him what he should do. His father advised him to call the police and then he met Michael at the location. Connelly spent the night at the police station looking at mug shots and listening and watching.

He was hooked from that night on.

The audience asked several questions about Connelly's writing process. The author said that usually he wrote three or four early books about each man, concentrating on plot, before he was able to delve more deeply into their psyches. It generally

takes him ten months to write a book and it is a long process and a solitary one. He can't write books about LA in Florida, where he lives much of the time. So he has to return to LA when it's time to write.

Connelly had already signed hundreds of copies of his new book before the night began, but he was willing to personalize signatures and so I stood in line for quite some time with lots of others who are Connelly fans. He was very gracious, allowing anyone to take photos while he signed books.

It was a wonderful night, definitely worth the trip to AZ a little early so I could finally meet this author I've so admired. It's good to know he doesn't see me as a stalker.

November 22, Fifty Years Later

National Geographic Channel recently aired the first of several documentaries and movies about November 22, 1963. I'd like to say that date seems like yesterday, but in actuality it seems like long ago. At the time I was seventeen, a junior in high school, on the way to a debate tournament at Bradley University. We heard of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's death on the car radio.

As I watched those documentaries today, I thought about how ill prepared we were for such a tragedy. And now we have lived through so many more in the

intervening fifty years. I also considered how much life has changed all around us, but those images have stayed frozen in time in our heads and in our hearts. Watching the horrified faces and tears of people outside Parkland Hospital in Dallas brings back the same feeling of grief and dread, even after fifty years.

The black and white footage shows immense changes

in media coverage. Without the technology we have today, information was sparse and often inaccurate. The President was reported to be receiving blood transfusions and his eventual death was actually disclosed by one of the priests who gave him last rites. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was reported to have had either a heart attack or been shot also. Neither report was true. Long after Lee Harvey Oswald (often called "Lee Harold Oswald" by reporters), left the Texas Book Depository, the Secret Service was still looking for him in the building because he was reportedly still there.

Besides so many inaccuracies, the way the 1963 news media operated is also startling from a 21st century perspective. The local Dallas news station shows reporters on camera smoking cigarette after cigarette and interviewing people while holding telephones to their ears--often both ears. No unseen ear phones here. The news anchor actually explained that they would have an update on Texas Governor Connolly's condition the following morning since the news went off the air at night. [Why, oh why, did they have to invent the 24-hour news cycle?]

The news footage told me things I didn't know. I thought that people leaving massive flowers in someone's memory was a phenomenon of more recent times like Princess Di's funeral. But many people left memorials for Kennedy outside Parkland Hospital and at the location where he was shot.

I also learned that a casket was brought to the hospital to transport the body, and the funeral home's employee reported that the First Lady took off her wedding ring and put it on the President's finger before they closed the casket. During these early hours no one knew where Lyndon Johnson was. He had been whisked away to "an unknown location" to keep him safe and he would soon be sworn in. It was ironic to hear Mrs. Rose Kennedy talking on the phone to LBJ on Air Force One and telling him how much she knew he loved her son. In the intervening years the truth of the Kennedys/Johnson relationship would say otherwise.

Finally, I didn't realize that Lee Harvey Oswald's funeral was held in secrecy in Fort Worth with only the family attending. News men acted as pall bearers since there was no one else. It was not open to the public.

Even now, after fifty years, the images persist. It was mayhem when Kennedy was shot and his car left the motorcade and rushed him to the hospital. We have watched the home video of that scene over and over. Also seen and remembered is the footage of people waiting outside Parkland Hospital for word of the President's condition, tears streaming down their

shocked faces.

Even the Secret Service men were in tears, as was the judge, Sarah Hughes, while she performed the oath of office to LBJ on Air Force One. I saw the shooting of Oswald by Jack Ruby live since the television station covered it as he was transported to Dallas County Jail. I remember my total disbelief as I rose from a chair in our family room.

That same day we learned a new vocabulary of state funerals: the rider-less, black-draped horse with the

boots on backwards; the casket lying in state in the Capitol rotunda; the mournful notes of the funeral dirge; Mrs. Kennedy in black with her young children, and,of course, John's salute; and the internment at Arlington Cemetery near the Eternal Flame. So many of the participants that day are now gone too.

I'm not sure my children or grandchildren will ever understand the shared grief of my generation over what we lost that day. Oh, I know we're baby boomers and prone to re-examining and whining over the memories of our lost youth. But on November 22, we shared the total disbelief that this could happen in our country to a young, vibrant, and handsome president, leaving behind a grieving widow and two small children. We shared the loss of innocence from those three shots fired that day. We shared the loss of what might have been.

And we will always share the images of that dark procession down Pennsylvania Avenue when the world and its leaders came to Washington, D.C., and shared our loss too. 

Upstairs at the McCullough House

After my sojourn across the pond, it's back to the

McCullough House, a Victorian home that will be an 1893 setting in my second mystery. We've explored the public rooms downstairs. Now it's time to take the broad staircase to the second and third floors.

The wealthy of the late 1800s generally had sparsely furnished bedrooms. These were private areas of the house so ostentation wasn't necessary. Usually the bedrooms on the second floor contained an easy chair, table, washstand with pitcher, bureau, and chamber pots.

The beds were made of brass, iron, or woods such as

mahogany, oak, cherry, or ash.  I imagine the McCulloughs had high-posted beds because the ceilings were high and the floors cold. They probably had feather beds since the wealthy could afford such luxury. The walls in the rooms were painted or wallpapered in a hardly memorable pattern. They may have had three or four bedrooms on the second floor, but the master bedroom was in the front with windows looking out over the street. At some point the owners also added a bathroom in the 1800's sense of the word.

A bathroom was separate from a water closet. Let's consider first the lowly water closet. Through most of the 1800s, the privy was outdoors and was called an outhouse, a house of office, or a necessary house. In fact, there was much resistance to bringing this whole unsanitary business inside the house. Not until WWI did "bathrooms" become tubs, sinks, and toilets. In 1910, Sears, Roebuck sold the three together as a "suite" with standard parts put out by, appropriately, the American Standard company. So perhaps the McCullough house began with an outside privy that was later moved into a small closet on the second floor.

Also on the second floor was the bathroom. This was strictly for bathing and when we lived there in the late 1960s, the second floor did have a large bathroom that accommodated a claw-foot tub. But in the late 1800s, this tub was made of wood, zinc, or painted tin. Often a bathroom had a fireplace and might have started as a small bedchamber. The Victorians avoided wallpaper or wood paneling in their bathrooms because of roaches. Instead, they used glazed ceramic tile in white, gray, or buff colors. The more expensive--I'd like to think the McCulloughs fit this category--used pearl, gold, or rose hues in their tiles. Can you imagine, as a domestic, making multiple trips carrying water up the back stairway from the kitchen to fill this tub and keep it warm so the owners could bathe? You would probably have been thankful people didn't bathe as often in the 1800s.

Probably a bit larger than the McCullough House,
 but you get the picture!

The second floor is not as interesting as the top floor of the house--the ballroom. It's possible the third floor also had a couple of small, lackluster rooms for servants' quarters too. But the top floor was a ballroom with windows overlooking the main street, Broadway. Refreshments would have been available in the ballroom and possibly they had a midnight supper on the first floor followed the dancing.

All young ladies were given a dance program and

gentlemen wrote their names in for specific dances. Never would an unmarried woman dance more than twice with the same man. Until the late 1880s, husbands and wives never danced together in public (disregard what you see from Hollywood.) The favored dances were the waltz, polka, quadrille, gallop, cotillion, and Virginia Reel. But young ladies were warned against overexertion in Godey's Lady's Book. This was probably prudent since they were in corsets that cut off their lung capacities. 

The finest evening wear would have been essential for the McCullough's dance invitations. 



Gloves and fans were required. The fans were made of silk, tortoise shell, lace, or ivory, and often had beads, hand-painted designs, or feathers. A lady suspended her fan on a chain from her waist while dancing. She also learned the "language of fans" so she could flirt with young men.

It would be easy to imagine the evening promenade of

men and women in fancy dress walking up the main staircase of the McCullough house to spend a pleasant evening dancing in the ballroom and drinking punch. Tightly enforced social codes required the unmarried to move through their regulated lives under the watchful eyes of the married adults. (Egads, another reason marriage was the ding dong bell of doom.) And, when the dance ended, the ladies would obtain their evening wraps, be escorted down the staircase once again, and climb into their conveyances to go home through the quiet streets of Monmouth.