A Nick Drake Novel, Book 10
Date Published: 04-30-2026
Publisher: Jackdaw Press
Nick Drake traded his past for the Sheriff’s star, but Harney County doesn’t do election honeymoons. His tenure kicks off with a double homicide staged as a murder-suicide—a lie Nick isn't buying. As he digs into the crime’s rotting core, the rookie Sheriff finds himself fighting a war on two fronts: a lethal learning curve with unproven deputies and a political recall designed to bury him. In the high lonesome where secrets kill, Nick must strike first and strike hard. Because in this office, the only thing shorter than his term is his life expectancy.
Excerpt
Potholes on a road I’d never traveled before grabbed at the wheels like a bad conscience seeking redemption. It led to a ranch east of Burns surrounded by withered hayfields scratched out of a dead sea of sage scrub. Tumbleweeds hung on rusty strands of sagging barbed wire. The wind-scoured house and barn looked ready to give up the ghost. If the call that brought me out proved true, the owners already had.
A brand new 1980 Cadillac Sedan de Ville was parked out front. The color made me think of the old saw about red skies in the morning. The driver’s door opened and released a cloud of cigar smoke followed by a big man wearing a pearl snap-button shirt and stockman boots. He set a summertime Stetson atop his crew cut and eyed the seven-point gold star on the door of my rig.
“I take it you’re the new sheriff,” he said. “I heard Harney County had a special election to fill the boots of the old one who got hisself killed.”
“Nick Drake,” I said. “And you are?”
“Red Caldera.” He chuckled. “Yup, I know, heckuva moniker. My folks idea at being clever. Pleased to make your acquaintance, though the situation inside is none too pleasing. Couple been dead a week, be my guess.”
When I didn’t make a move toward the house, he clicked his cheek. “I woulda thought you’d charge right in, but maybe you don’t know you’re s’posed to on account you’re new to sheriffing.”
“If they’re dead like you say, what I need to know first is why you went inside uninvited.”
The straw cowboy hat reared back as he aimed his double chin at me. “Now, hold it right there. I didn’t do nothing wrong. I’m the one called it in and I’m the one been cooling my heels on a hotter than a firecracker morning waiting for you to show up.”
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