The Naked Lady of Whispering Gulch

By O'Neil De Noux

Whispering Gulch wasn’t much of a town. Didn’t even have a boot hill like Tombstone. On a dusty day, near the end of the 19th Century, a Pinkerton man arrives in Whispering Gulch on a wandering daughter case. Hired by the wealthy father who’d received letters from his daughter post marked ‘Whispering Gulch’, the Pinkerton man shows a photo around. Several old timers claim this could be the ‘nekked lady’. Could this be a prank? Were the old timers leading him out into the desert to leave him? When an angelic, blonde, naked lady steps from the darkness to take a moonlit bath in Whispering Gulch, well, it’s no joke anymore.

Lust turns to love and the Pinkerton Man has his wandering daughter. Or does he?

• Language: English
• Publisher: O'Neil De Noux
• Release date: Feb 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465994295

O'Neil De Noux

O’Neil De Noux writes in many genres, primarily realistic crime fiction, strong on setting, mostly New Orleans, featuring the accurate dialogue of the streets. He also writes scintillating erotica. His publishing credits include 20 novels, nine short story collections and over 300 short stories. From contemporary to historical, De Noux uses several recurring characters in his New Orleans stories and novels: NOPD Homicide Detective John Raven Beau (21st Century); NOPD Homicide Detective LaStanza (20th Century); Private-eye Lucien Caye (1940s) and NOPD Detective Jacques Dugas (1890s). A primary theme in De Noux’s fiction is the effect of violence on victims and their families as well as the sometimes debilitating effect of violence on law enforcement officers, private-eyes and their loved ones. As a former private-eye and currently a police investigator, De Noux knows his subject well. De Noux’s stories span from mystery to mainstream, literary, suspense, thriller, science-fiction, fantasy, horror, erotica, humor, westerns, children’s fiction as well as cross-genre stories – erotic-detective, science-fiction mysteries and the like. O’Neil De Noux’s “The Heart Has Reasons” (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, September 2006) won the Private Eye Writers of America’s prestigious SHAMUS AWARD for BEST SHORT STORY 2007. The SHAMUS is given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. In 2009, the Short Mystery Fiction Society awarded the Derringer Award for Best Novelette to another Lucien Caye story, “Too Wise” by O’Neil De Noux (which appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s November 2008 Issue). The Derringer Award is given annually to recognize excellence in the mystery short form. In June 2012, De Noux’s novel JOHN RAVEN BEAU was named 2011 POLICE BOOK OF THE YEAR by Police-Writers.com, a group that boasts of 1153 state and local law enforcement officials from 485 state and local law enforcement agencies who have written 2504 police books. A hyper-realistic crime story, JOHN RAVEN BEAU provides an intimate look into the beleaguered NOPD Homicide Division, a story that begins in the French Quarter and ends in a swamp, all within the city limits of America’s eternal city, a city that cannot be destroyed – New Orleans. A second Beau novel was released in 2013 – CITY OF SECRETS. Books by O’Neil De Noux (all available as eBooks and trade paperbacks). Go to www.oneildenoux.net for links.

Book preview

Cover Art Copyright 2012 Vincent De Noux

The Naked Lady of Whispering Gulch

O’Neil De Noux

Copyright 2012 O’Neil De Noux

Smashwords Edition

The first thing Steve Whitman noticed – there was no Boot Hill outside Whispering Gulch, like back in Tombstone. The second thing he noticed – there were no people on the street, not that the dirt road running down the center of the unpainted wooden town was much of a street. The third thing he noticed was the place smelled like wet dirt, like mud, only it was as dry as the rocky desert surrounding the town.

The roan mare Whitman bought in Tombstone slowed her pace and veered to the left to a water trough in front of a gray wooden building with a worn red sign out front that read Whispering G Saloon.

Whitman climbed off the mare without falling this time and stretched. Tall and thin, six-three to be exact, Whitman had sand-colored hair and sunken cheeks that gave him a gaunt look. He liked that. He fancied it made him look tough. After all, he was a Pinkerton man.

A yellow dog trotted up and sniffed the air near Whitman. He shooed the dog, but it didn’t move. It snapped its jaws at him and stood its ground. Whitman watched the dog as he tied the mare to a hitch post and went into the saloon. The mare whinnied and didn’t seem to like the dog much.

The saloon was dark and stuffy and smelled of stale beer and tobacco. Whitman pulled off the new black Stetson he’d bought in Tombstone and wiped his brow and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dimness. The bar was to his left.