About the Book:
Black Opal Books (2017)
The mayor of the north Georgia town of Witherston and one of its prominent attorneys are being blackmailed by a mysterious Donna Dam, who threatens to expose the two men’s shameful activities of forty years ago if they do not take a paternity test and pay a hefty sum of money, and if Mayor Rather does not withdraw his proposal to build a dam, creating a lake on top of a sacred Cherokee burial ground. Blackmail leads to murder, and when Detective Mev Arroyo and her two teenage twins investigate, they discover some dark secrets, putting all their lives in danger…
Read an Excerpt:
Featured in April/May 2017 Issue: The Eighties
PROLOGUE
Mayor Rich Rather grabbed his cell phone when a beep signaled the arrival of an email.
“Excuse me,” he said to Trevor Bennington, Jr., President of Bennington Financial Services and member of the Witherston Town Council. “I’m expecting an estimate from Appalachian Landscape Contractors.”
He opened his email.
From: Donna Dam (donotreply@xxx.com)
To: Rich Rather
PAYBACK TIME
Fri 03/10/2017 9:31 AM.
Dear Mayor Rather:
Do you remember what you were doing on the night of November 5-6, 1977? I bet you do. You will pay for it.
There is a wooden shed 1/4 mile upstream from Withers Fork on east bank of Saloli Stream. It’s on the Zamora property. Bring $9,900 in cash at 5:00 pm tomorrow. Leave the money in an envelope inside on the table. If you do not show up on time, I will go public with your secret.
Donna Dam
Sent from my iPhone
“Anything wrong, Rich?”
“No, nothing, nothing at all. Thanks, Trevor.” Rich stood up. “But I’m afraid I’ve got other business to attend to. I’m sorry to be cutting our meeting short. So sorry.”
The mayor showed him out of his office and deleted the email.