Calistoga, California-population 5,000-a popular tourist destination located in the most beautiful part of the Napa Valley, a place where people still go to bed at night with their doors unlocked. At least, they used to....When private investigator Sam Bass is hired to look into the savage murder of a young woman, he has no idea of where it will take him. It's a frustrating case, months old and with few leads. Then more bodies are found, and the trail seems to lead back to Sam, himself.... A new thriller by the author of Hugh Glass, and The Last Jaguar!
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department had handled the Tressider case. O'Hare had given them the heads up that Sam was coming, so they were ready for him. The deputy's name was Calkins. Tall, mustachioed and hawk-eyed, he could have been the poster boy for the Texas Rangers. To Sam's surprise, Calkins offered to drive him to the spot where the murders had taken place.
Sam could tell Calkins was scrutinizing him, wondering if Sam, himself might be the one they were looking for. Together, they headed out to rural Glen Ellen, famous for the winery that bore its name and for the fact that Jack London had lived there. "So," Calkins said as they drove, "tell me what you know about the case so far."
"Not much, actually. A biker name of Tressider found out someone had slept with his girl. In a fit of rage, he killed her. Then somebody offed him. Calkins grunted.
"There's quite a bit more than that," he said. "Tressider was big, really big. A Fat-Boy Harley under him looked tiny. Nobody in the department wanted to go, when the call was out on him, so we all went. We still had trouble containing him." "I'm surprised you didn't just shoot him," Sam said dryly.
"It was considered--individually, of course. None of us wanted to get hurt and he was a strong, strong boy. Anyway, the night it all went down, Tressider's girlfriend, Sheila Oakes, was at Steiner's Bar, on the square in Sonoma. There was a guy there, not a local. For some reason Sheila couldn't resist him. She took him home and into her bed. Tressider apparently came home and discovered them together. He punched Sheila once and broke her neck, then somebody or….something, got him down, opened him up and ate his organs."
"DNA?"
"All mixed up. The coroner couldn't make heads or tails of it."
"Soupy," Sam said.
"Huh?"
"Soupy. That's what they're calling him over in Napa--if it's the same guy, and it sounds like it is." "Yep. It seems that way," Calkins agreed.
"What about semen? If the Oakes woman slept with somebody that wasn't her boyfriend…." "Definitely human. White male--we don't have a match for it, though, and we're not even sure he's the one that did Tressider. Whole thing was a mess." "No prints?"
"None."
They reached the scene of the crime, a small, two-bedroom house in the country, with no neighbors within a quarter-mile. The house had been rented again, so they couldn't go in. Sam wondered if the new tenants knew what had transpired there. Calkins drove Sam back to his car in silence. "If you find anything--anything at all--you'll let me know?" he asked as Sam got out of the squad car. "I promise," Sam told him.
About Bruce Bradley
A Winemaker by profession, Bruce Bradley has worked at many jobs, including: Cook, Sheet Metal Worker, Reporter, Photographer, Private Investigator and Bartender. His first book, Hugh Glass was first published in 1999, his second book The Last Jaguar was published in 2006. Both books were finalists in the USA Best Books Awards. The Seeds Of Darkness is his third book to come to print.
Calistoga, California-population 5,000-a popular tourist destination located in the most beautiful part of the Napa Valley, a place where people still go to bed at night with their doors unlocked. At least, they used to....When private investigator Sam Bass is hired to look into the savage murder of a young woman, he has no idea of where it will take him. It's a frustrating case, months old and with few leads. Then more bodies are found, and the trail seems to lead back to Sam, himself.... A new thriller by the author of Hugh Glass, and The Last Jaguar!
A Winemaker by profession, Bruce Bradley has worked at many jobs, including: Cook, Sheet Metal Worker, Reporter, Photographer, Private Investigator and Bartender. His first book, Hugh Glass was first published in 1999, his second book The Last Jaguar was published in 2006. Both books were finalists in the USA Best Books Awards. The Seeds Of Darkness is his third book to come to print.