Icy Betrayal (31 page)

FIFTY-ONE

T
he silence in St. Joseph’s church was broken only by hushed voices reciting a litany of Hail Mary’s. There were just a handful of people present, each with their head bowed in reverence. An elderly woman appeared from the small door, walked to a nearby pew, knelt, and joined the others in prayer.

A tall figure with thick, dark hair sprinkled with gray rose slowly and went inside.

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been nearly a year since my last confession…”

The curtain pulled away, exposing the priest behind the screen.

Father Jon smiled.

“It’s good to see you, Jack.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While driving on Interstate 5 in the fall of 2009, I noticed a large ice truck in the lane next to me. I looked over at the big eighteen wheeler and it struck me: I wonder if you could put a body in there in an effort to fool investigators as to the time of death. I know what you’re thinking… Why would anyone have a thought like that driving down the interstate?

After nearly thirty years working within the California criminal justice system, I probably look at things a little differently than most people. The idea of keeping a body frozen in that truck stayed with me as I continued down the interstate, and when I returned home later that evening I sat down at my laptop and just started typing. I had no outline or real idea where I was headed, but I just knew there was a story there. A few hours later, I had the first dozen pages of Icy Betrayal in hand.

The rest followed in fits and starts, with sometimes months going by without a word being written. Finally, over the course of 2013, I pounded out the rest of the story. I hope you enjoyed it.

There are so many people to thank for giving me the encouragement I needed to finish this book. I’d write a handful of pages and quickly send them off to select friends and family to get their feedback. Mostly they told me that I had to “hurry up and finish the damn story” as they were hooked and wanted to see how it would end. Those kind words kept me going.

Specifically, I’d like to thank the following people for their support and encouragement:

Tom and Barbara Laubacher, Marvin Petal, Rich Gualano, Steve Low, Laura Rainey, Mark Keith, John Higgins, Laura Greaves, Anita Gergen, Ron Calkins, Mike Palmieri, Tom and Mona Neuhaus, Monica Schoenfeld, Robert Garcia, Martin Remmen and Doug Saint.

A special thank you to my editors Dan Green and Erin Clark and their marketing team at OMG Media in Monterey—their assistance was invaluable.

I want to thank my wife Giselle, my two older kids Jessica and Michael, and my youngest Alyssa; who along with her college roommate Nikki Voest would meet me regularly for breakfast on the campus of California Lutheran University to share their thoughts on my writing. Their insights were a tremendous help.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Keith has nearly thirty years of experience in criminal justice and policing. As the longtime spokesman and community affairs manager with the Oxnard Police Department he publicly handled high profile cases including more than 200 homicides. Considered a leading expert in media relations, David trained officers and staff from over five hundred police agencies across the nation in media communications, community outreach and crisis management.

David lives in Southern California with his wife Giselle.