Getaway Money

Icily applauding every conflict between bone-deep isms, Death inexorably beckons from a front-row seat. Someone's killing jockeys and scaring hell out of the rest of them. On his own, retired FBI operative "Jace" Maxwell pondered a possible nationwide connection between the questionable deaths of several topnotch jockeys. Then, Enrique Mendoza's horrifically mutilated corpse is pulled from a reservoir in the Midwestern town of Mercury. Instinctively, the local police force's lone detective, Lt. Robert Huber, brims with vengeful territorialism. Even so, he quickly realizes that his department is ill-equipped to skillfully investigate the heinous nature of this seemingly lead-free crime, and gladly accepts Agent Maxwell's offer of help. Blending into the barn area at Mercury Downs as a stable groom and hot-walker, Maxwell discovers that Mendoza's murder is likely linked to the only winning ticket for a $1.72-million Twin-Trifecta payoff. Assuming that Mendoza's murderer also is responsible for other jockeys' deaths, Maxwell and Lt. Huber profile a psychological trap to lure the remorseless killer back into the Mercury area. The trouble is, their plan must involve a gallery of track-side women and men whose contributions are vital, but which could jeopardize each of them as maliciously as had been Mendoza's fate. Unbeknownst to everyone, Richard Pierce, known as The Talon, had decided that the "Mendoza job" would be his last. Yet, antagonized by internal perfectionism and uncompromising self-esteem, he wrestles with returning to Mercury to put his indelible stamp of fear on those who seem bent upon defying his previous message. Envisioning this to be but a brief detour before vanishing forever, The Talon cunningly presumes that he can be more open and reckless than ever before.
About the Author: James "Kip" Joule, born and raised in New Jersey, currently resides in Nebraska with wife Vicki. His children are either in the latter half of their college years or completely on their own. His education includes five college degrees, ranging from the associate level through Ph.D., encompassing major fields such as Psychology, Hotel Administration and Population Biology. His first publications were professionally refereed scientific journal articles as a graduate student at the University of Houston and as an associate professor with the University of Colorado at Denver. Although GETAWAY MONEY is his first venture into a full-fledged novel, he has had many thousands of general assignment articles and feature-length stories published as the Senior Editor, Managing Editor and Corresponding Editor for daily newspapers, and weekly and monthly news magazines. His horseracing credentials include several years as Senior Editor for the nationwide weekly Thoroughbred news magazine RACING ACTION, published out of Long Island, N.Y.; as supervisor for the Department of Operations for Centennial Turf Club in Denver, Colo.; and more than a half-century of closely following, at times very hands-on, every aspect of Thoroughbred racing.