'An Honorable Man' arrives on Saturday

'An Honorable Man' - June 16th (for Father's Day)

https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/products_id/890/

 

Paxton, a forensics scientist whose wife has deserted him and their twin sons, becomes embroiled in trying to catch a serial killer when the boys discover a human finger-bone while rock-hunting. As more bodies turn up, and his housekeeper takes temporary leave, Paxton turns to Jordon, the boys’ grade school teacher, to watch them after school.

There is only one problem, Paxton and Jordon were lovers before Paxton married. Now, with his wife gone for the past two years, Paxton finds he still has feelings for Jordon, feelings which may be reciprocated. For the sake of his sons who hope their mother may someday return home, and his own belief that she might, he fights to be an honorable man.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Saturday, Sept. 11

"Dad, you're slow," Denny shouted, looking back down the slope at his father.

Paxton Boyle shook his head. "Not even. You two are just fast."

"Daaad." Danny drew out the word in exasperation.

"Look, you two, give your old man a break." He loved his twin boys but there were times when he wondered where they got all their energy. Right now he was very certain it hadn't come from his side of the family.

Danny looked at Denny, then they both looked at their father, and with one mind they vanished into the trees, trailing laughter behind them.

"When I catch up with you brats…" Paxton muttered as he made his way to the top of the slope. The twins were nowhere in sight, however he knew exactly where to find them by the sound of splashing water. Adjusting his backpack he moved forward, reaching the edge of the trees where he stopped to watch them.

They were in full 'rock hound' mode, picking up stones from the stream to check them out. If they passed muster they went into the small but growing pile on the bank. If not, they were thrown as far as possible back into the water, each boy vying to see who could make the biggest splash.

"You know," Paxton said, going to sit on a fallen tree a few yards away, "what you find, you have to carry back home, so choose wisely."

"We are," Danny assured him with all the seriousness a twelve-year-old could impart into those two words.

Denny had moved farther downstream, although still within his father's view. He seemed to be searching the stream bank and the ground closer to the trees rather than the stream itself. Walking toward a large rock, he knelt down beside it, taking a small spade from the holder on the outside of his backpack.

"What did you find?" Danny called out, running to join his twin.

"Maybe nothing, but look." He tapped the bottom edge of the rock just above ground level. "Doesn't that look like the edge of a fossil?"

"Be careful," Danny said as he stared where Denny had indicated. "If it is, we don't want to hurt it."

With great care Denny removed the dirt, making a hole about a foot deep and almost as wide so that they could see the rest of the possible fossil. "It's not," he declared. "I don't think." He dug a bit deeper, not ready to call it quits quite yet.

His spade hit something hard and he worked carefully until it was uncovered. "Just a bone," he told his brother who was watching in anticipation, handing it to him. "Let's show Dad, I bet he can tell us what animal it came from."

Paxton watched the twins, wondering what sort of rock or possible fossil they'd found this time. From the collection they already had sitting by the stream, he had the feeling he might be adding yet another display shelf to the ones already lining one full wall of their bedroom.

"Dad, look, what did this come from," Denny asked as he and Danny came up to him.

Paxton looked at the small bone resting in his son's dirt-encrusted hand. Carefully he picked it up, turning it slowly between his fingers as he studied it. Then he looked at Denny's eager face. "This was in the hole you were digging?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"It's a finger bone." As he told them, Paxton was already pulling out his cell.

"Like from a person?" Danny asked; his face lighting up when his father nodded. "Cool!"

"Gross," was Denny's comment while he wiped his hand on his jeans as if that would remove any lingering traces of his find.

"Lou," Paxton said as soon as someone answered the phone, "Pax here. I think we're going to need a couple of your men and mine up here. My boys just found a…" he looked at the bone again. "A human finger. Best guess at the moment, a third or fourth metacarpal bone." He listened for a moment, shaking his head. "No, they brought it to me the minute they found it so the burial site, if that's what this is from, is untouched other than that."

The twins looked at each other. "Maybe this is an Indian graveyard," Danny said, his eyes lighting up.

"Then why would Dad want his forensics people and the cops looking at it?"

Danny shrugged. "Because?"

Paxton finished giving the detective the location and hung up. "The bone's not old enough for this to be an Indian grave," he told the twins.

"A murder!" Danny was almost dancing with excitement.

"Unfortunately," Paxton agreed, "it probably is."