Jon Talton - High Country Nocturne

I made plenty of promises during those dreadful days, about a different future for us if only Lindsey would survive. There would be time to talk about all this.

In the meantime, she has gone offline. No computer, no news, no Facebook or Twitter. I took over a table for literary magazines and book reviews. In paper. She devours them and calls it the Sanity Table.

I follow the diminishing news enough to know that Phoenix is wracked with insanity. Chris Melton is more popular than ever. The state is a national punch line.

Soon summer, ghastly summer will come. The toffs will be gone to their houses in the San Juan Islands and the California coast. Zephyr Whitehouse will be in Palo Alto. Only the monsoon might bring the rest of us relief. But the storms don’t come into the city anymore.

That’s not quite true. Now, if they do penetrate the heat island of the concrete desert, the result is often violent microbursts. The dust storms come as they always have. They’ve been discovered by the national media and dubbed “haboobs.” Great visuals. But less and less rain. Lindsey and I have given up on television.

She has not spoken again about her out-of-body experience after the shooting. I have not asked.

The day they released her from the hospital, I got on my knees and asked her to marry me again. Then I slipped her rings back on. It’s only a diamond solitaire. But it is enough.

Every day we have, every night I hear her breathing next to me, is enough.

Cal Lash has lived a remarkable American adventure. Part of it involves being a Phoenix Police patrolman, sergeant, and detective, as well as a private investigator and diamond courier. I am grateful for his patience in answering my many questions. The same goes for Ellie Strang, R.N., who was most helpful on the medical front.

Help also came from David R. Foster, a deputy Maricopa County Attorney, and Lt. Rob Settembre of the Phoenix Police.

I am indebted to my friend Tom Zoellner for his book, The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through The World of Diamonds, Deceit and Desire . The title says it all, except that this is the best piece of journalism on the subject.

As always, blame me for any errors, inconsistencies, and deliberate changes in procedures or descriptions.

Barbara Peters, my editor at the Poisoned Pen Press, is rightly considered the finest editor working in the mystery field. I’ve been blessed to have her guidance through most of the Mapstone novels. I’m also grateful to Robert Rosenwald, president of the Poisoned Pen Press, and an excellent staff including Suzan Baroni, Beth Deveny, Diane DiBiase, Annette Rogers, and Pete Zrioka. They make this a gem among America’s independent publishing houses.

Jon Talton is the author of the David Mapstone novels, which follow the adventures of a historian-turned-deputy, working the mean streets of the urban West.

Jon's first novel, "Concrete Desert," was hailed by Kirkus as "an impressive debut." The Washington Post said it "is more intelligent and rewarding than most contemporary mysteries." The series has continued with "Camelback Falls," "Dry Heat," "Arizona Dreams" and "Cactus Heart." "Dry Heat" received Arizona Highways magazine's best fiction award in 2005.