Trauma (45 page)

Authors: Daniel Palmer

Carrie fired up the engine and started to drive when David's cell phone rang.

“David here,” he answered.

There was a long series of pauses as David said things like, “Uh-huh, oh good, yeah, sure, of course, that sounds fine, of course.”

He ended the call and said nothing.

Carrie looked over at him. “Well?”

“Well what?” David asked.

“Who called?”

“Anneke from the
Lowell Observer
.”

“What about?”

“The Pulitzer,” David said. “I won.”

Carrie laughed. “That's how you celebrate?”

“Not a real celebratory occasion, and it's a story I wish I didn't have to write.”

“David, it's fantastic news. I'm so proud of you. I really am.”

Carrie used one hand to drive, and the other to give David's hand a squeeze.

“There's more,” David said. “I've apparently been offered an assignment for
The New York Times
. They want me to go to Sierra Leone for a couple months.”

“Oh my. That sounds dangerous.”

“I'm a stringer, Carrie. I go where the story is.”

Carrie pulled her hand away and focused on the road.

“What?” David asked.

“I'm moving to Cleveland soon,” Carrie said. “We haven't really talked about us, and now you're going away.”

David smiled and touched Carrie's face with much tenderness. “I'm a stringer,” he said. “I go where the story is. And you're the story I want to follow for the rest of my life.”

Carrie took David's hand and this time gave it a kiss. She pressed down on the gas, and the Camaro shot forward like a rocket ship. For a moment Carrie felt Adam's presence in the seat behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder, a broad grin on his face, that twinkle in his eyes.

And on she drove.

She drove.

A NOTE FROM DANIEL PALMER

Dear Readers:

Every September, after submitting his latest novel to St. Martin's Press, my father would immediately begin to brainstorm. What kind of story would he be sharing with his readers next? Autumn 2013 was no exception. Pop knew he wanted his twentieth thriller to return to the hospital setting that was the hallmark of his earlier works. The protagonist would be a young female resident who encounters a desperate patient with the repeated claim, “I don't belong here.” The doctor begins to believe the patient, investigates, and soon descends into a labyrinth of murder and corruption.

Dad's next story was in place. Then, in October of 2013, my father died suddenly.

I don't know how long my dad would have kept writing. He had no plans to stop. He had journals and file folders filled with ideas. With each novel, my father aimed to deliver his very best because he cared deeply for his readers. When news broke of his passing, my inbox flooded with messages from fans around the world.

Even though he was a bestselling novelist published in over thirty languages, the business of writing was sometimes lonely for my dad. It meant blank pages, solitude, and deadlines. But something changed for him in 2009. That was the year I landed my first publishing contract.

I was working from home doing consulting and writing. My dad was at his office, too, some sixty miles to the south. I'd leave my iChat application running all day so whenever Pop wanted a little face time, he could just dial me up online and there I'd be. Or me and his grandkids, or all of us plus his daughter-in-law. We would jawbone about plots until our fingers grew itchy to do some key tapping. I learned the craft of writing from my father during those long talks. Remembering them gave me confidence that I could run with his great premise for TRAUMA.

Working on the book proved to be a remarkable and deeply emotional journey. When the email from Dad's beloved editor Jennifer Enderlin came in accepting the manuscript, I said aloud, “We did it, Pop.”

I can't replace my father; nobody can. But I can continue his legacy, and that's a thrill and an honor that leaves me humbled and incredibly grateful.

In friendship,

Daniel Palmer

KENSINGTONBOOKS.COM
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

MICHAEL PALMER
is the author of twenty novels of medical suspense, all international bestsellers. His books have been translated into thirty-five languages.
Extreme Measures
was the basis for a movie starring Hugh Grant and Gene Hackman. You can sign up for email updates
here
.

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DANIEL PALMER
is the author of four critically acclaimed suspense novels. After receiving his master's degree from Boston University, he spent a decade as an e-commerce pioneer. A recording artist, accomplished blues harmonica player, and lifelong Red Sox fan, Daniel lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two children, where he is currently at work on his next novel.

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