Part 29 (2/2)

Then Ryan pulled something out of the safe. Everyone gasped as he held up a dark brown leather pouch with the reverence of a priest raising a communion chalice. In the slanted afternoon sunlight, the leather, embossed with the initials Th J, gleamed like old burnished gold.

”Thank you, Kevin. I know you're watching,” he said with a broad smile. ”I do believe we've found Mr. Jefferson's seeds.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

The characters in Ghost Image are all fict.i.tious creations invented for this story, with the obvious exception of historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, George Was.h.i.+ngton, Pierre L'Enfant, Lewis and Clark, Dolley Madison, John Fairbairn, and the members of the McMillan Commission, though I have also used those individuals fict.i.tiously. Any resemblance to any living person is entirely coincidental and unintentional. Francis Pembroke and Senator Francis Quincy never existed and there was no seed cabinet left behind in the White House by Thomas Jefferson.

The idea for Ghost Image came about after I heard an NPR book review of Andrea Wulf's The Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation (Vintage Books), a page-turning account of the Founding Fathers' obsession with gardening, seed collecting, and farming, and the impact their pa.s.sion had on shaping our country. Shortly afterward I read an article in the June 2012 issue of Smithsonian called ”Seeds of the Future” on the work of the Millennium Seed Bank in England, which subsequently led to a conversation with Mark Verrilli, a landscaper friend with Pleasant Valley Landscapes in Aldie, Virginia, about whether it might be possible to germinate seeds that were hundreds of years old.

I was fortunate to have considerable help with this book from many people who took time out of busy schedules to answer my questions. As usual, if something is wrong, that's on me. In America I owe thanks to the following people: Scott W. Berg, author of Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. (Vintage Books), for sitting down over breakfast and talking to me about Pierre L'Enfant until it was nearly lunchtime; Rick Tagg, winemaker at Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, Virginia, for his help and knowledge of herbs; George Thuronyi, Copyright Division, and Jennifer Harbster, Science, Technology and Business Division of the Library of Congress; Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants, and Mary Scott-Fleming, Director of Enrichment Programs at Monticello; Dr. Martin Gammon, Vice President of Business Development and Museum Relations, Bonhams (and a regular appraiser of rare books and ma.n.u.scripts for PBS's Antiques Roadshow); Detective Jim Smith, Crime Scene Section, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department; as well as Dr. Carmella Moody and Rosemarie Forsythe, who made numerous constructive comments and offered advice. Also thanks to a few anonymous people who answered questions relating to Nick's intelligence career, as well as several individuals who were my resources for religious matters: You know who you are.

In England, thanks to John and Jackie Briggs, my former neighbors, who fed me and gave me a place to stay when I was in London. I also am grateful to Kay Pennick, Librarian, and Dr. John d.i.c.kie, Head of Information Section, Seed Conservation Department, at the Millennium Seed Bank; Christopher Bailes, Curator, Chelsea Physic Garden; Anna Christodoulou, the Connaught; and finally to Andrea Wulf, for meeting me for breakfast in London in between taping a show for the BBC to discuss The Founding Gardeners and offer suggestions and help, including her idea to invent a White House seed cabinet that belonged to Thomas Jefferson.

Several books, in addition to The Founding Gardeners and Grand Avenues, were helpful: The Creation of Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.: The Idea and Location of the American Capital by Kenneth R. Bowling (George Mason University Press); The Apothecaries' Garden: A History of the Chelsea Physic Garden by Sue Minter (History Press, UK); Monument Wars: Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape by Kirk Savage (University of California Press); ”A Rich Spot of Earth”: Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello by Peter J. Hatch (Yale University Press); and The Last Great Plant Hunt: The Story of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank by Carolyn Fry, Sue Seddon, and Gail Vines (Kew Publis.h.i.+ng, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK).

Heartfelt thanks to my critique group friends and fellow authors: Donna Andrews, John Gilstrap, Alan Orloff, and Art Taylor, affectionately known as the Rumpus Group, for considerable help with many drafts of this book. As always, my dear friend Tom Snyder read the first draft (and the ones that followed) with a keen eye and a sharp blue pencil.

At Scribner, thanks to Katrina Diaz, my editor, and to Susan Moldow; also to Alexsis Johnson, my publicist, and Katie Rizzo and Cynthia Merman for copy editing. I am especially indebted to Maggie Crawford for editorial help and guidance.

Finally, thanks and love to Dominick Abel, my agent. Last, but by no means least, I am grateful to my sons and daughters-in-law, but most especially to my husband, Andre de Nesnera, for more in my heart than I can possibly express. None of this would be possible without you, my love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Photo Credit: Jackie Briggs.

Ellen Crosby is the author of Multiple Exposure, the first book in a new series featuring photojournalist Sophie Medina. She has also written six books in the Virginia Wine Country Mystery series: The Sauvignon Secret, The Viognier Vendetta, The Riesling Retribution, The Bordeaux Betrayal, The Chardonnay Charade, and The Merlot Murders. Her novel Moscow Nights, a stand-alone, was published in England. A former freelance reporter for the Was.h.i.+ngton Post and the Moscow correspondent for ABC News Radio, Crosby lives in Virginia with her family. Learn more about her at EllenCrosby.com, on Facebook at EllenCrosbyBooks, and on Twitter @ellencrosby.

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT.

SimonandSchuster.com.

authors.simonandschuster.com/Ellen-Crosby.

ALSO BY ELLEN CROSBY.

The Sophie Medina Mysteries.

Multiple Exposure The Wine Country Mysteries.

The Sauvignon Secret The Viognier Vendetta The Riesling Retribution.

The Bordeaux Betrayal.

The Chardonnay Charade The Merlot Murders.

Moscow Nights.

We hope you enjoyed reading this Scribner eBook.

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