The Red Pick-Up Truck Mystery
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Now it is 1942. The United States is at war with Germany and Japan. Sam, 16, has his driver’s license. He at last has been able to purchase the red pick-up truck that has been stored for years in his Grandpa George’s barn. Howie, 15, comes for a visit and helps Sam fix up the truck to get it ready for the road.
In the process of repairing the truck they find faded 50 and 100 dollar bills and strange coded messages hidden in the vehicle.
When they attempt to find the origin of the money, and also to crack the secret codes, they find their Uncle Freddy dead in his home. Then as Sam and Howie follow the clues, they have to elude the clutches of a sinister dentist who is a wanted criminal. Also two convicts who have just escaped from a local prison constantly harass them as they attempt to solve this latest intrigue. Two mystery characters, Moose and Squirrely, enter the scene as adversaries to complicate efforts to find a solution to the daunting and dangerous criminal activity.
Sam and Howie have hair-raising encounters with this group of gangsters who work in secret underground rooms to produce counterfeit money. They also discover that the hoodlums process stolen paintings and other art works and sell them to America’s enemies in foreign countries. Follow along as Sam and Howie attempt to stay one step ahead of these criminals and solve this latest thriller, “The Red Pick-Up Truck Mystery.”
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About the Book
Kidnapped? A 16 year-old farm boy abducted from his neighbor’s house in broad daylight? No, this hideous crime couldn’t happen in peaceful rural Indiana!
A man’s corpse is found in his dilapidated house. Counterfeit money, stolen paintings, secret coded messages and international intrigue during the Second World War are all revealed as two teen-aged mechanics-turned sleuths attempt to breathe life back into an old rusted and grimy red pick-up truck.
A county sheriff and an agent of the F.B.I. join forces to assist the two amateur detectives in their attempts to solve this complex mystery. Together they try to sort out the mind-boggling series of events involving an evil dentist who is a fugitive from the law, two dangerous escaped convicts and an odd pair of strange men--a seven-foot giant and a his puny partner.
Will all the twisted threads of this exciting thriller be untangled so that justice can prevail? You will be enthralled as this spell-binding novel, the third in the Sam and Howie series, unfolds bringing suspense page by page.
About the Author
The author, George S. Haines, was reared on a working farm in north central Indiana. Visits to the farm by friends and relatives were rare. As a result he looked forward to seeing his cousin Howie arrive from Ohio to stay several days. Together they would go on exploring missions around the farm. And that is where the mystery began.
Haines graduated from PurdueUniversity with B.S. and M.S. degrees. His doctorate was earned at GeorgePeabodyCollege for Teachers, now a college at VanderbiltUniversity. He has taught students from the seventh grade through adults. At TaylorUniversity, Upland, Indiana, he was professor of education and Director of Teacher Education during a 17 year tenure. He lives in Upland, Indiana and Ft. Myers, Florida.
The artist, Betty Wedeles, has taught beginning and advanced art classes for 30 years. Her knowledge and application of color, harmony, value, measurement and composition is evident in her works. She is involved in wood carving, clay sculpture and china painting. Her artistic endeavors reflect her respect for wildlife and its habitat.
She is in demand as a judge at art shows and as a workshop leader. A talented artist, Wedeles has studied under Gene Melton at the University of Southern California. Mrs. Wedeles lives in Ft.Myers