The Edge of Nowhere (50 page)

“Yes! Yes! Please, Seth. Go! If he sees me, if he finds me . . . You’ve got to go!”

Seth didn’t need to be told twice. He reversed the car in an instant like a tourist who’d made the wrong turn. He floored it in the opposite direction, back up Sixth Street, heading out of town.

“Take me somewhere,” Becca begged. “Take me someplace safe.”

Seth gave her a look. He measured her panic and made his decision. “How d’you feel about tree houses?” he asked.

“I feel just fine.”

“Done,” he said.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

One major liberty had to be taken with Whidbey Island, and those who live here will recognize what it is: Coupeville General Hospital would not be equipped to care for a patient with Derric Mathieson’s injuries and he would have been airlifted to Harborview Medical Center across the water. Other than that, at the time of this writing of the novel, everything is as described, although locals will recognize that some of the names have been slightly altered.

I’d like to thank Mike Hawley of the Island County Sheriff’s Department for a tour of that facility and of the county jail, as well as for information he provided me about police investigations. Dane Heggenes, Bayley Heggenes, and Trevor Heins were terrific interviewees about their experiences at South Whidbey High School as well as at Bayview School, and erstwhile principal Rob Prosch unlocked actual doors for me at that former facility. I’m extremely grateful to Ralph Hastings for his willingness to become a character in the novel, as well as for allowing me the use of his amazing garden and house as one of the settings. My wonderful personal assistant Charlene Coe researched everything from trees to wildflowers while simultaneously keeping the ship afloat at my home, and my husband Tom McCabe put up with my disappearance into my office to write two novels simultaneously.

In New York, my editor Regina Hayes showed remarkable and endless patience as she guided me into and through the world of young adult fiction, and I’m deeply indebted to her as the learning curve was a steep one for me. As always, I must thank my literary agent Robert Gottlieb for everything he does to support me and to promote my work around the world.

Elizabeth George

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HIDBEY
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