Revenge - Pure & Simple
by
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It was hard to see much with his flashlight so without
thinking, Harold moved his car closer to the body and positioned it so the
lights shone squarely on the victim. In doing so he destroyed whatever clues
might have been present. Eager to impress the editor, he used a small
throw-away flash camera to get almost two dozen photographs of the body as it
lay, or rather sat, propped up against a tree. The headlights’ bright glare
created an eerie atmosphere.
When Harold realized he was working on a front page by-line
story...the first one he’d had since he joined the staff...for the morning paper,
he changed from rattling off disjointed facts to a narrative description.
“Following a phoned-in tip this reporter was dispatched to a location eight
miles from town on the promise of finding a clue to help solve the mystery of
the two murders that have been committed here in town. The tip was a lie. There
are no clues. However, I stand looking at a scene from hell. The glare of my
car’s headlights illuminates the naked body of a man, a man who has been
murdered. The dead man was murdered in the same way as that attorney and the
judge--”
“Harold, stop all the
purple prose!” snapped Jesse. “Just give me the damned facts for the scene.
We’re working on a deadline here. Now stop the theatrics and just report the
damned facts.”
Harold wanted to tell Jesse, “Well to hell with you,” but he
thought better of it and turned to the task at hand. “The body is propped
against a tree. The victim is male and of goodly proportions. The man’s head is
encased in a plastic sack that has been secured around his neck with what
appears to be duct tape. The man is wearing only heavy work shoes.” The
reporter walked around to the back of the tree. “His arms have been tied behind
him. Duct tape is wrapped around his wrists. They have been positioned around
the tree to keep him upright.
“The tape which
secures the sack around his neck is also wrapped around the tree. The man’s
eyes are open, his face...as much as can be seen through the plastic...reflects
agony, the agony of a terrible death.”
He stopped talking as he saw the headlights of a car
approaching. Frightened for the first time, he told Jesse that someone was
coming.
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About the Book
A
series of murders follows the conviction of a man for the rape and murder of a
local girl. His threats towards his attorney and the presiding judge are
followed shortly by their macabre deaths. Each is found dead, naked but for
their shoes, with their head wrapped in a plastic sack. The guilty man is
suspected of directing these from his jail cell. However, three additional
murders are of people not involved in his trial. Each is slain in an identical
manner. All viable suspects are eliminated which results in confusion for the
investigators. The possibility of organized mob participation, based on the
discovery of drugs and pornography in which the attorney was apparently
involved, results in a decision for protective custody of the secretary who
found the attorney's body. She is placed in the home of the Police Chief. His
son, the lead detective in the case, and the secretary soon develop an interest
in one another. The FBI is invited into the case and their help develops to be
essential in the identification of the murderer. The involvement of an arsonist
proves to be a factor in solving other non-related crimes which the FBI has
been tracking for several years. The specific identification of a suspect comes
about in an unusual manner. No clues are forthcoming until a break identifies a
man from out of state as a possible suspect.
About the Author
A
native of
He
is the author of SAMS, a Western novel set in post Civil War Arizona and
ASSAULT ON THE HOMELAND a contemporary novel He know resides in Mesquite,
Nevada.