However, romance was the furthest thing from Police Chief Tess O’Rourke’s thoughts right now. When she arrested California drug smuggler Roger Marshall last year she believed the drug problem would end. Yet, opiate addiction, “drug overdose,” and drug related deaths continued to plague the town.
With the most recent an eighteen-year-old reported DOA by the graveyard patrol officer. Even though the grieving mother and the boy’s best friend said he never used drugs. However, when Tess arrived on scene she inspected the boy’s room and saw a needle and white powder residue in the evidence bags. She also noted an open screenless window, a ten-foot drop to the ground below and smashed bushes.
During the interview Tess learned a group of kids had gathered the night before to celebrate leaving for college. They had met at their favorite party spot and some older guys from the Hang Ten pot farm had joined them.
Tess knew the Hang Ten was the largest of three legally licensed pot farms and they were difficult and obnoxious to deal with. She also knew the farm owner believed the town discriminated against his operation and he had “taken on ‘hired muscle’” because of it. The more Tess learned the more she questioned whether she was dealing with overdose, suicide or maybe murder.
Yet, how and why would the pot farm involved? “Had a new and deadlier drug supply chain cropped up” and were they part of it? However, why would a college bound honor student who never used drugs commit suicide? And what about the open window and smashed bushes below? Tess couldn’t yet know those questions would unleash a dangerous investigation that would not only threaten the town, but also the lives of those she cared about as well as ruin her law enforcement career.
Thus, begins an intriguing story penned by a retired Long Beach police officer that could be pulled from today’s headlines because of the topic, authentic scenes and dialogue. The light touch of romance and questions of faith are well integrated into an otherwise suspenseful storyline that keeps pages turning until the end.
