If Clive Cussler Does it, So Can I ...

I loved reading the Clive Cussler Dirk Pit novels and I especially loved his device of using the first chapter to write about some historical event that has consequences in the present day.  Perhaps it was my love of history, or maybe it was just such a damn clever way to start a story.
However it was, I stole the idea.  This is my confession.  History, first off, is absolutely fascinating – successes, failures, abuses, wars and battles and all.  The players, the countries, the tribes, the locations, the ever-present struggle of everybody against everybody paints combat, conflict, destruction, and resolution as the fundamental background against which all of today is seen. 
Using something from history to frame a current day struggle or crisis, and tying the two together makes the people and their community have to interact on many different levels.  It becomes a natural way to view the evolution of the plot and the eventual resolution of the novel.
So that the way every Mogi Franklin Mystery begins – some historical flashback that causes a mystery to be left unresolved.
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