Jearl Rugh

Presumed Dead Jearl Rugh

Publisher Marketing: A text message hits Seattle Patrol Officer Kel Nyte's phone with a serious threat. Even though she has no authority to investigate a hangnail, she decides to probe the first crime scene off-duty, and falls right into a murderer's plans. Prodded into the pursuit at the business end of a stun gun, anger and humiliation aren't enough to perform an investigation of this scale. On the case, she's partnered with a seasoned detective, but with his stay-the-hell-out-of-my-way arrogance, Kel is forced to investigate on her own. She combs through poetic riddles, and the lesson plans the murderer leaves at each scene. They not only give insight to his motive, but drive her investigation deep into a layered labyrinth of secrets from her father's furtive past and corruption. Dirk, a Police Chief forced to retire due to his terminal illness, has only three months to live, but secrets the murderer reveals about Kel's dad threaten to tear their relationship apart. Just when she suspects her dad is the prime suspect, the murderer's next clues include death threats to her fourteen year-old daughter. Now with a gnat's-breath of time on his clock, no matter what the cost, Kel must find both the killer and the means to stop his rampage before he executes one final lesson. Contributor Bio:  Rugh, Jearl From the time Jearl was thirteen and completed his first school term paper, he knew he wanted to write. At first, journalism seemed a logical pursuit, but the path down newspaper and magazine publication wasn't broad enough. He needed a multi-lane highway; somewhere he could floorboard the throttle of his psyche into unsuspecting characters. When his reading tastes drifted toward thrillers, he knew this was more than just a turnpike, though; this was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Better buckle up. A resident of Snoqualmie, Washington, when he isn't enjoying his wife and family, or at his day job-a program manager for a Seattle based international law firm-you'll find him hunched over his computer creating characters and settings for the stories brewing in his mind.