Someone s murdered Brayton Spites!

Nobody s sorry he s dead with one exception. A ruthless, unscrupulous businessman, notorious womanizer, and heartless father, he turned his back on his only legitimate son after the boy s grandfather abused him. So when Spites s body is found in a dark alley in Coyote Springs, the question is not who killed him, but what took so long?

Jason Crow, rancher, vintner, and double amputee, is invited to help find his biological father s murderer. He has no idea just how personal the quest is about to become. The list of suspects includes his half-brothers, Harden Spites and Kelvin Dodge, as well as Brayton s alcoholic widow, Dolly Dodge. Then there s Neldona Chance, a prostitute with a heart of gold, who shared a complex relationship with Brayton, Harden, and Kelvin.

Bodies pile up. Family tensions rise. Tempers reach the breaking point when the sheriff comes to arrest Jason s grieving and emotionally fragile mother for the murder of the profligate man she never stopped loving.