In the Dark of Night

By Lynn Cooper

Samuel Garcia has been called upon to solve a rustling operation impacting five of Texas's largest cattle ranchers. He enters a tightly woven web of deceit that leads him into a number of life-threatening situations. He is shot at and then led into a death trap by a trusted and respected individual. He ends up a prisoner being held by a group of vicious individuals with murder on their minds. Come along on this cleverly twisted tale of intrigue and see if you can solve the mystery before our master private eye unravels the case.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886858075

Book preview

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In the Dark of Night

A Samuel Garcia Private Eye Mystery

Alton Lynn Cooper

ISBN 979-8-88685-806-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88685-807-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Alton Lynn Cooper

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

About the Author

Books By Alton Lynn Cooper

Introduction

Samuel Garcia was the young debonair Spanish associate of Davey Gibson in the novel On the Wings of Love. He's a dashing young man who is most comfortable in blue jeans and a brightly colored shirt with his feet clad in genuine leather cowboy boots (with carved designs on them, of course). Samuel's great-grandfather was a policeman and passed his love of solving difficult cases down to his flamboyant grandson. After Davey moves back to the states upon completion of his missionary work in the South Pacific, Samuel joins the local police department on Kalmajo Island to gain some on-the-job experience to prepare him to return to Texas and take up residence as an elite private investigator. He launches his career in some most unusual ways before finally landing his first big case tracking down some pretty clever cattle rustlers.

Samuel manages to remain footloose and fancy-free even though he has a host of young lady admirers along with a loving mother who is expecting a host of grandchildren from her eldest son. Samuel established his office in the old bunkhouse on his family's sprawling cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle after evicting numerous families of mice who had called the place home for many years. A hard case with large amounts of intrigue gets Samuel's blood moving and his investigative juices flowing along with it. He works diligently to solve this case, realizing it will open up many more to come. He fancies himself among the best when it comes to snooping, and we certainly hope you will agree after traveling with him through this case of missing beef.

When was the last time someone was in this place?

It was long before your dear papa left this earth. I can tell you that.

I don't know if the dust is going to kill me or sweeping up what all these mice left behind.

Well, you could have put your office in the main house. I told you that.

I know, Mama, but the kind of work I'm entering into might draw the kind of crowd that you wouldn't want anywhere near the family.

What made you decide to become a, how do you say, private investigator?

I think it may have been my great-grandfather's police work. I don't really know. The trouble that Davey and I got into on the island gave me a thrill tracking down some bad guys. Got the juices flowing, so to speak.

Samuel Garcia had finally come home to his family's sprawling cattle ranch in the panhandle of Texas. For the past few years, he had worked with Davey Gibson flying supplies to the missionaries on a number of South Pacific islands. The missionaries had established outposts in those remote areas to reach the natives for the Lord with the gospel. Davey had returned to the states a year earlier getting married and settling down in his hometown in southern Ohio.

Samuel had hired on with the police department on Kalmajo Island to obtain the required training hours necessary to get his private investigator license in the state of Texas. He was a dashing tall, slender Spaniard with raven black wavy hair and a large handlebar mustache. His attire was always a pair of well-worn blue jeans, decorated genuine leather cowboy boots, and the most flamboyant multicolored shirt available on the market. He preferred silk but would settle for a less-costly material if his finances forced him into it. He was moving here to his family's cattle ranch operated by his six brothers under the firm hand of his widowed mother. She was mama to all the boys and kept a keen eye on all their shenanigans. Sofia Garcia had just turned sixty a short time ago but was still a stout-built feisty lady for her age. His father, Mateo, had died six years ago leaving her and the boys to run the ranch that had grown significantly over the years.

Are you sure you want to be this far from the main house?

Yes. This will work fine for my line of work and keep unwanted guests away from you and the brothers.

You scare me when you talk like that. Why do you think bad people are going to come searching for you? Are you sure this is the kind of work you want to get involved in? You can always come in with the boys helping run the ranch.

Mama, I mean no disrespect, but following cows across the open fields isn't exciting enough for me anymore. I need something to run tingles up and down my spine.

Let's just hope for your sake those tingles as you call them aren't being brought on by a hot piece of lead tickling any other parts of that long lanky body of yours.

The last comment was sent out with the short snort that Mama gave out when she was done discussing a given subject. The boys all had learned long ago that you didn't keep pursuing a subject after Mama's snort was heard.

He and his mother were cleaning up the abandoned bunkhouse that was located at the end of the ranch's long winding driveway near the road. The old bunkhouse was one of the first buildings built by his father after he purchased the land. It was a sturdy building made out of oak timber cut from the property. It had a small kitchen area attached to the main room along with three bunk rooms in the back.

Samuel had plans for transforming it into his office, bringing it back to life after sitting empty for the last few years. The main house had become a grand hacienda with large porches front and back with tall columns holding up the expansive balconies off the second floor. The ranch had grown over the years since he had been on the islands under the excellent management of his mother and six brothers. They had steadily increased their land holdings to 114,000 acres. The largest cattle ranch in southeastern Texas was known as King Ranch. It was established by a man named Richard King who had been a steamboat captain born in 1825 in Orange County New York. A number of the large ranches were still held in the same family that had controlled them through many generations.

You'll be at the house for supper tonight, yes?

I wouldn't miss it, Mama. Be good to catch up with the brothers on the ranching business. I'm heading into town after we finish up here to get some materials to make this place look more like the magnificent office that a first-rate private eye should have. Can't have my customers thinking I work out of an old bunkhouse.

Mama gave him a slap on the seat of his pants jarring him, letting him know that there was nothing first-rate about a detective that, as of now, had nothing to investigate.

Samuel drove one of the ranch trucks into Amarillo to gather up the necessary building materials and see how much the place had changed during his time on the islands. He had hung out with his high school buddies in some of the parks playing football while participating in girl watching. He was more into sports in school and didn't spend much time seeking out girlfriends as some of his friends had done. The result was that most of them were married now with families of their own, and he was still footloose and fancy-free, so to speak. He had his number of admirers but had stayed somewhat aloof, sending them off to other pursuits.

Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes? How long have you been back?

Samuel reached across the well-worn counter at the lumber store and shook hands with George Donaldson, one of his old classmates. I've been back for a few days now. You sure haven't changed a lot. Well, maybe except your carpet up above is mostly gone now. Hey don't start on me. I don't miss it at all. Less to take care of. What are you after today? Whatever it is I hope we're out of it! They both shared a good laugh while getting caught up on old times. Samuel worked down his list getting locks for the windows and doors and picking out a few gallons of paint to refresh the interior of his new office. He also bought enough lumber to build shutters to place on the insides of the windows giving privacy when needed. He was considering whether or not to make one of the bunk rooms his bedroom or stay in the main house. He wanted to be careful never to have the wrong people come searching for him around his family. His brothers had all grown up as fighters but times had changed from the schoolyard days and some of the criminal element now used guns more than fists. He had taken training and then bought a shoulder holster and a Glock 22 pistol. He received his concealed weapons permit and then bought insurance to protect him in the event he had to use the weapon. He couldn't imagine using a gun against another person but knew in his line of work he may need the ability to protect himself.

He returned to the ranch and spent the rest of the afternoon installing locks along with building the interior shutters. His father had the foresight to have a well and septic system put in which allowed running water and a small bathroom between the bunk rooms. The well pump needed to be replaced and the water tested to make sure it was safe to use after sitting idle for a number of years. He had contracted a well man to come in the following week and put everything in order. He wanted to keep working but glancing at his watch knew that Mama would be having supper promptly at 6:00 p.m., and no one was to show up at her table dirty or late.

Well, have you got that hole at the end of the drive in order yet?

It's a better-looking hole than what it was before our dear mother helped me run off the mice and clean up after them.

Samuel gave his younger brother, Diego, a loving slap on the back. He was the second born and was three years younger than Samuel. They had been close growing up and shared in many of the schoolyard tussles, resulting in their being expelled from school on more than one occasion. Their mother always gave them a firm chewing out and wanted their father to use his leather belt to teach them better manners. He would just shake his head and smile saying young strapping Spanish boys needed to flex their muscles once in a while to grow up strong and in control of their circumstances. Mama would twist his ear, lovingly of course, and scoot him out of the house to tend to the herd.

Samuel had six brothers that kept their parents and the school officials on their toes. They had all grown up into respectful citizens and took their responsibilities on the ranch seriously. Samuel paused at the head of the table and looked at his brothers, freshly bathed and dressed, seated in their appointed places. Mama reserved the seat at the head of the table for herself and then had the boys sit according to their ages three to a side.

They sat in order: Diego at thirty-six; Eduardo, thirty-four; Javier, thirty-one; Manuel, twenty-eight; Fernando, twenty-six; and Ricardo, twenty-two. With Samuel returning home, he would sit next to Diego, putting four on one side and three opposite them. Mama, you need to find a dashing Spaniard and give us one more brother to balance out the table.

I'll balance you out you keep talking like that. Your dear papa was the only one for me, and seven of you are enough to send me to my grave.

They all shared a good laugh as the young maid came bustling in, pushing the kitchen cart with plates of hot steaming food on it.

Samuel, this is Valentina. She has worked for us since last year. She oversees the kitchen and the other maids along with our cook who is an amazing man when it comes to food.

"It's good to meet you, Valentina. I just got out