As the Crow Dies

Kenneth Butcher

Description

A bookish police detective and his roller derby star partner investigate a quirky mystery involving superintelligent animals, military conspiracy ... and murder.

When a body is found in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina, the man on the case is police lieutenant Ira Segal, recently returned to semi-active status after being shot in the line of duty. Segal, who carries Elmore Leonard paperbacks as security blankets, isn't sure he's up to investigating a murder, and neither is his partner, military veteran and local roller derby star Sgt. Dinah "Dinosaur" Rudisill.

Segal discovers that the victim worked for the mysterious start-up company Creatures 2.0, which trains animals to acquire uncanny capabilities. Creature 2.0's eccentric founder, Francis Elah, has gone missing, and no one can find him, not even Elah's top client, the Office of Naval Intelligence.

As Segal and Rudisill investigate the murder and Elah's disappearance, they meet the bizarre animals Elah trained, including a raccoon who rolls cigarettes, pigeons who follow a priest to church, and a superintelligent crow who keeps bringing evidence to the detectives' attention. When the trail leads to a shadowy military contractor, more murders, and a threat to national security, Segal and Rudisill face a dangerous confrontation, and the only thing they can trust is each other.

Witty, engaging and fast-paced, As the Crow Dies is a mystery that veers from the norm in unexpectedly delightful ways.

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Policier
• Police Procedurial
• Thrillers
• Carolina del Norte
• General officer
• Asheville, North Carolina
• Detective
• North Carolina
• Mystery
• General
• Crime
• Asheville
• Thriller
• Fiction
• Caroline du Nord

Informations

• Publié par: Linden Publishing
• Date de parution: 02 juin 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9781610353717
• Langue: English

Extrait

Advance praise for As the Crow Dies
Beginning with a body face down in the river, As the Crow Dies flies from one unexpected development to another. A pair of unlikely detectives work to find a missing scientist and keep up with a case that threatens their lives and their sanity. Animals with super powers, street musicians, the U.S. president and first lady, and a roller derby matchup all add to the novel s strength and quirkiness. Few authors can combine murder and humor as well as Kenneth Butcher.
-Anne Hillerman, New York Times best-selling mystery author
As the Crow Dies is a charming, vibrant mystery filled with intrigue that hooks the reader from page one. Kenneth Butcher tells a fascinating tale of murder, animal intelligence, and human foolishness in this wonderful novel that brings the city of Asheville to life. A page-turning follow-up to The Dream of St. Ursula . I love this book.
-Christy English, author of The Queen s Pawn and Waking Sarah Ann
In As the Crow Dies, Ken Butcher creates an intriguing mystery that combines a fresh, charming detective duo, the free-spirited vibe of Asheville, NC, and an original plot following a trail of bodies in a race to prevent a crime of international consequence. As the Crow Dies takes readers on an exciting ride with more twists and turns than the mountain roads of its setting.
-Mark de Castrique, author of Murder in Rat Alley, Secret Undertaking , and Hidden Scars
No living author writes police procedurals that are sharper or funnier than Kenneth Butcher and As the Crow Dies serves up madcap mystery at its most gripping. He sets loose his two military-trained detectives in the foothills of Western North Carolina where they encounter would-be assassins, international intrigue and a menagerie of uniquely gifted animals. Who other than Butcher can introduce cigarette-rolling raccoons, lothario crows and alphabet-reciting mule deer into a murder investigation-and never have readers doubt the truth of every word? As the Crow Dies proves as suspenseful as it is entertaining, Appalachia s rollicking rejoinder to Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade: A novel as brilliant and rare as the zany animals that populate its pages.
-Jacob M. Appel, author of Millard Salter s Last Day
Kenneth Butcher s As the Crow Dies gives us a crackerjack mystery that begins, like all good murder mysteries, with the discovery of a body-an apparent accident. But the plot then takes us into remarkable territory in which the fantastical becomes true and the detectives find themselves confronting a deadly conspiracy that spreads far beyond the picturesque mountain town of Asheville, NC. Segal, the seasoned lead detective, is recovering from a gunshot wound. In a turnabout of the usual roles, it falls to his partner, Dinah Rudisill, to handle the rough stuff. One of the joys of this fast-paced mystery is watching their friendship develop, as Segal regains his old confidence and Rudisill sharpens her skills, rising to an extraordinary challenge. Both detectives live into the honorable tradition of restoring justice and meaning to a world often lacking in both, and doing so with style and humor. The perfect book to get a smart reader through the pandemic.
-Philip Gerard, author of Cape Fear Rising and The Last Battleground
AS THE CROW DIES

Kenneth Butcher
An Asheville Mystery

Pace Press Fresno, California
As The Crow Dies
Copyright 2020 by Kenneth Butcher
2020: Kenneth Butcher, Hendersonville, North Carolina
www.kennethbutcher.com
All rights reserved.
Published by Pace Press
An imprint of Linden Publishing
2006 South Mary Street, Fresno, California 93721
[phone]/ [phone]
PacePress.com
Pace Press and Colophon are trademarks of
Linden Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-61035-361-8
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual people, places or events is coincidental. Whenever real celebrities, places or businesses have been mentioned or appear in this novel, they have been used fictitiously.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file
Contents
Acknowledgments and a Note of Thanks
Prologue
Chapter 1: Vortex
Chapter 2: Morning Shift
Chapter 3: Creatures 2.0
Chapter 4: Eggs and Bacon
Chapter 5: Aunt Mary Moses
Chapter 6: The Wedge
Chapter 7: Dr. Gold
Chapter 8: Boss s Office
Chapter 9: Raccoons
Chapter 10: Perfect Brown Shoes
Chapter 11: Aerial Combat
Chapter 12: Freeze Frame
Chapter 13: Biltmore Estate
Chapter 14: Dinah on Skates
Chapter 15: Tobacco and Mint
Chapter 16: Second Crime Scene
Chapter 17: Rules of Recovery
Chapter 18: Like a Rolling Stone
Chapter 19: Nature Center
Chapter 20: Vampire Movie
Chapter 21: Just Like the Night
Chapter 22: Montford Avenue
Chapter 23: Redeployed
Chapter 24: Again with Dr. Gold
Chapter 25: Foreign Correspondent
Chapter 26: Court Order
Chapter 27: Comfort Food
Chapter 28: The Eleventh Rule
Chapter 29: Nasty Fox
Chapter 30: Call of the Dog
Chapter 31: Protective Custody
Chapter 32: Den of Thieves
Chapter 33: We re Going In
Chapter 34: Grove Park Inn
Chapter 35: Spring the Trap
Chapter 36: Chicken Little
Chapter 37: Ascent of Mount Pisgah
Chapter 38: A World of Trouble Now
Chapter 39: A Brace of Kinsmen
Chapter 40: Punch and Counterpunch
Chapter 41: Plan B
Chapter 42: The Jammer
Chapter 43: All In
Chapter 44: Epilogue-Six Months After
About the Author
Acknowledgments and a Note of Thanks
I am deeply indebted to many people for encouragement and help during the writing process, including the whole population of Asheville who make it such a fun and vibrant place.
Thanks to William Greenleaf, who read a very early version of this story and made many helpful suggestions. Also, a very special thanks to Steve Kirk, who not only steered me in the right direction after reading an early draft but also applied his special brand of editing near the end. His patience, thoroughness, and insight have surely made this a stronger book.
Thanks to Marge Cotter for her proofreading and encouragement. Marge passed away last year and is missed by many including myself. Also, thanks to Jen Butcher for proofreading and all kinds of help, including putting up with this whole process.
Finally, thanks to Kent Sorsky and CJ Collins et al at Pace Press for turning this story into a real live book.
To the Princess of Asheville, Lilah Grove
Prologue
Abbottabad, Pakistan
T he boy trotted down the narrow lane between cementblock buildings, kicking a worn soccer ball with remarkable control. The sun was just coming up and a heavy dew had formed, settling the dust. It was his favorite time of day. The air was cool and the bigger kids were not up yet. He had the street to himself. He could be who he wanted to be. He practiced a quick sideways kick, a shot on goal. The ball lodged in a niche between two buildings, forcing him to interrupt the rhythm of his trot to pick it up. When the ball was in his hands, he looked at the words written in a language he could not understand. His sister said it was English. The words said, Made in China, but he had no sense of that.
He thought he was lucky to have the ball at all. Last week, one of the older kids had kicked it over the wall that surrounded the large compound of buildings two blocks away. He did it on purpose, for spite. In less than a minute, a door in the wall opened just enough for a man to roll the ball gently out. The boy had snatched it up and headed home.
Now, he dropped the ball again to continue his solitary practice. A shadow flashed, and the call of a bird made him look up and gasp. It was a large black crow. He watched as the crow glided and then flared its wingtips to settle on the parapet of a building a block away. The building was taller than any nearby and easily visible even from the narrow lane.
As he watched the crow bobbing on the wall, he saw a man approach. Against the red light of the morning sun, it was a silhouette only, just the head and shoulders, but the boy could tell without doubt he was not a local man. It was the shape of the hat that told him this, a smooth cap close to the head with a long bill in front. It was the kind of cap the boy had seen in pictures of American ballplayers in the magazines downtown.
The crow did not fly away but bobbed its head even more and cawed with excitement. The man gave the bird something to eat, and the bird allowed its head to be stroked. The man held up his arm, and the crow hopped on. As the man turned to leave, he stopped suddenly. The boy could tell the man had just spotted him, and he caught his breath. The man held his gaze for a few seconds and then nodded as if to tell the boy that it was okay. The boy could see the man better now in the gathering light. He could see the letters on the man s cap. The boy nodded back, and then the man and the bird were gone.
The boy would remember the man and the crow in days to come, but he would keep his memories to himself. He would remember the letters on the cap, too. Asheville .
CHAPTER 1
Vortex
Asheville, North Carolina
E arly on another morning a young woman-a true athlete, short in stature, large in hair-skated, perfectly poised and balanced and at peace. Her eyes were barely open. This was a form of meditation, practice, and physical workout blended together, all in one. She called it feeling the glide. It was an unscripted series of variations on the basic art of roller skating-fast, slow, glide, dip, high on the outside of the oval, low on the insid