A bit over priced for a paperback. But a big discount on this book is available for the print or e-book version at my storefront on the publisher's site at http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=4294111. It's also available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook Book for only $2.99
A pleasant community finds itself in a mess when the mayor gets murdered, and people are upset about not knowing who commited the crime. The sheriff has a number of suspects and things get difficult when he becomes romantically involved with the prime suspect, a beautiful girl who grew up in the town, has been away and is just moving back.
From Chapter Seventeen:
It was nearly as if he’d forgotten how big the territory was. He’d been driving for hours in the early morning drizzle without seeing any sign of her or her vehicle. Glade continued through the mountain passes and valleys until he was nearly running out of gas, looking into the distance, waiting and waiting to catch a glimpse of her SUV. He came down a mountain with his fuel gage reading empty and stopped at an old filling station that looked like it was a million miles from nowhere, relieved that someone was around and that there was some gas for his truck. A young fellow in his teens anxiously came to the truck and greeted him as if he hadn’t seen another soul in months. Glade asked the boy if he’d seen a black SUV come through. The boy shook his head and told him there hadn’t been anybody all day. He was the first. Glade paid for the gas and gave him a business card along with a five-dollar bill and asked the boy to call if he saw the SUV with the pretty girl in it. The boy said he sure would let him know if he seen her and was admiring Glade’s truck, badge and big handgun hanging on his hip.
He spent the rest of the day driving through the valley and stopping on occasion at a farmhouse to ask questions. Nobody had seen her except Ben Ferguson, the farmer she had stopped to pull his truck out of the mud. Glade seen him fairly often in town but didn’t know him real well. He and his wife and kids were friendly but he did all the talking, and only said she seemed to be in a big hurry, and had headed down the road toward the direction that would take her toward the mountain pass and down into Los Angeles. When the farmer asked if she was in any trouble Glade smiled and shook his head, telling the farmer that folks were just concerned for her. The farmer mentioned remembering her from when she was just a kid and said what a nice girl she always was, and hoped she was okay. He wished Glade luck in finding her and would call the sheriff’s office if he saw her again, of course.
The rain was starting to come down hard again. It was getting close to eight in the evening when he slowly made his way through the storm into town. The door to the sheriff’s office was locked, which meant Clem was at the cafe. He waded across the street through the gushing rain and went into the Sleepy Springs cafe. Nellie was sitting at the table near the window with Clem. The two of them were laughing. Clem had been entertaining her with funny stories. She was laughing so hard she had a hard time getting up from the chair. They stopped laughing when seeing Glade. He looked about as happy as a sick calf. Glade hadn’t eaten all day and wasn’t in the best of moods. He smiled wide when Nellie asked him if he’d like a real big steak with grilled onions and a baked potato. Clem didn’t have to ask. He knew Glade hadn’t spotted Christine or her vehicle. If he had he would have known by now. Glade would have said something on the radio, and the radio had been quiet all day. Glade thought it a good idea when Clem suggested asking the state cops to help them in the morning with the search.
