Which eccentric cowboy in Stockton County branded Evan Sting on Shotner Hill, murdering the young man? This is what private eye Joe Boxford asks himself when he's hired by Evan's father Benny to find the murderer. Joe needs some help, and enlists the services of Tal Linear, owner of The Linear Bar. But sparks begin to fly between the two. As romance heats up between them, they attempt to solve the branding crime. As the suspects start to pile up and weird relationships unfold in West Stockton, Joe and Tal begin to unravel a heinous crime. That is, until Tal vanishes and Joe thinks his sleuth buddy is going to be the killer's next victim. Does Joe have the skills needed to be a hero and save Tal from the killer's secret agenda and solve the crime? Or will Joe fall flat on his face and lose his reputation as a private investigator as well as his new lover, Tal Linear?

Stockton County Cowboys Book

“Drugs, of course. Cocaine. Evan loved the stuff. He snorted it up his nose like a little pig. Oink. Oink. Oink. All the way home. Max sold to him, just as he sells to every other coke user in this town. And both you and I know that he could afford it. His daddy and uncle have quite the fortune, but Evan was greedy and hated to pay his drug bills. He was spoiled and didn’t give a shit about his bill, nor Max Martin. It was a good enough reason for Max Martin to kill the kid, right?”


Everything he was telling me could be true. Evan could definitely afford coke because his family was loaded. And Max Martin had the reputation of dealing everything on the planet. Of course I had to keep the bad boy on the map of my investigation. Max was a criminal and needed to be put away for his bad behavior. I told Dash, “He’s on my radar. Thanks for the information.”


Chapter 24