I wrote a first draft of Door to Door several years ago, more as an experiment than as a conscious attempt to write a mystery novel. I had two projects underway, and neither of them was going anywhere. One was based on my experience in news:
A call came in on the police radio to investigate a parked car with what the caller thought was a dead body inside. Squad car called back that yes, there was a dead man who appeared to be a priest. Medical examiner said it must have been a heart attack. Body was sent to a funeral home, where the staff discovered a bullet hole in the victim's armpit; they called the police again to investigate a murder. Police talked with diocesan officials and reported that the medical examiner's report stood, that what the people at the funeral home thought was a bullet hole actually was an old wound.
No one in the newsroom believed the official story, but there was nothing we could do about it. Many years later, in the mid-Nineties, when I began trying to write fiction, I tried to imagine how people in the parish -- including a newly-assigned assistant pastor -- would react to the situation. Turned out my imagination wasn't up to the task. I set it aside, and turned to a series of anecdotes based on my experiences canvassing door to door for an environmental organization.
Hm, I thought. What if, in talking with many people in one neighborhood, I began to hear random clues which would help solve a crime? Ten people each knew a small and seemingly minor part of the story, but if the parts were assembled, a strong story might emerge. But which crime?
Then I remembered the dead priest. That's how
Door to Door got started.
