"Railroad investigator Hook Runyon is again embroiled in a complex murder mystery only he can solve."
Reviewed by Tanzey Cutter
Posted May 7, 2012
Mystery Historical | Mystery Police Procedural
Near the end of World War II, railroad bull Hook Runyon is
located in the high desert of Arizona to look into the
theft of copper from the West Salvage Yard. While there, he
also becomes involved in investigating the death of a
military guard protecting the nearby Johnson Canyon Tunnel,
a crucial point along the rail line for transporting
military supplies. The guard is killed inside the tunnel by
an oncoming train, but there is more to the case than a
simple accident or suicide by train. The further he
scrutinizes the facts, the more he suspects something
sinister is going on. The problem of dealing with military
officials, as well as his boss, keeps Hook on his toes and
watching his back. Sheldon Russell delivers another outstanding
addition to this compelling historical mystery series. His
tightly woven narrative gives you an excellent feel for the
location and time, as well as the complex characters
involved. Can't wait for Hook's next thrilling adventure.
SUMMARY
Near the end of WWII, Hook Runyon, railroad bull, and his
dog, Mixer, are sent to the West Salvage Yard in the high
desert of Arizona. Not far away is the Johnson Canyon
Tunnel. Though remote and ordinary as tunnels go, it is the
gateway to the steepest railroad grade in North America and
a potential bottleneck for the delivery of war supplies. So
vital is this tunnel to the war effort that a 24-hour
military guard has been assigned for the duration. Hook's orders are to catch copper thieves and to stay out of
sight and out of trouble. But things go awry when Hook
receives a call that one of the guards has been killed
mid-tunnel by an oncoming train. Lieutenant Allison Capron
from the Army Transportation Department is called in to help
with the investigation. At first, suicide by train is
suspected, but the evidence soon suggests homicide resulting
from a love triangle. Unable to fit his own findings into either of these
theories, Hook suspects something more sinister.
Excerpt"How's it hanging, Eddie?" he said.
"Runyon, I been sitting on this phone for half an hour.
You think all I have to do is to wait on you?"
"Sorry, Eddie, but my secretary couldn't make it in
today."
"Cut the wisecracks, Runyon. There's been a death out
at the Johnson Canyon Tunnel?"
A chill ran through Hook. He hated that damn tunnel.
"A death?"
"You know, when someone stops breathing, forever."
"Yeah, I know what death is, Eddie. It's working
security in a junkyard."
"I want you to go check it out."
Hook lit a cigarette and watched the crane lift a
wrecked Cadillac into the sky.
"And leave Scrap's copper unprotected? Jesus, Eddie, do
you think that's a good idea?"
"Believe me, Runyon, I'd send someone else if I could,
but that line has to be kept open. If that tunnel shuts
down, the whole system goes with it."
"What do they think happened?"
"Accident, one of the military guards that's been
stationed out there."
"Accident?" Hook flipped his ashes into the wastebasket
and looked out the window, which was gray with smoke and
dust. "How do they know?"
"A man don't stand in the middle of the tunnel in the
middle of the night with a hotshot charging down grade on
purpose."
"Jesus," Hook said.
"The engineer called it in. Took him half a mile to get
shut down," Eddie said. "He didn't even know what he'd hit
until he saw the guard's boot stuck on the catwalk."
"Alright, Eddie. I'll take the popcar out."
The popcar, sometimes called the popper, was a small
gasoline powered trolley used mostly for track
inspections. It could be an uncomfortable ride in the
desert but was Hook's only transportation at the moment.
"I released the engineer on to the next stop. He'll
catch a hotshot back. You can talk to him then."
"Damn it, Eddie, I should take a look at things before
the engine's released."
"There's still another army guard assigned to duty out
there. He might have some idea what's going on."
"I'll check it out, Eddie."
"This thing has to be wrapped up fast, Runyon. That
line can't be tied up. It ain't the first tunnel accident
out there, you know. They killed off half of Arizona
building that damn thing."
"What's the rush, Eddie? The war's over, hadn't you
heard? Japan has been bombed into oblivion."
"I want this thing resolved, see. On top of everything
else, that line is being upgraded, and there's equipment
and people. We can't shut the railroad down while you play
detective."
"I am a detective, Eddie."
"And there's that other little problem, too," Eddie
said.
Hook's pulse ticked up. Eddie had been looking to nail
him for years.
"They give me a promotion over your head, Eddie?"
"In your dreams, Runyon. You might just recall dumping
a boxcar back in Amarillo."
Hook lit another cigarette and watched Mixer dig through
Scrap's trash.
"That switchman cut off his thumb, Eddie. What the hell
was I supposed to do, let him bleed to death?"
"And deprive the railroad of paying his medical pension
for the next thirty years?" Eddie said. "I should hope
not."
"I'm missing an arm, Eddie. No one pays me a pension."
"That's not your biggest problem, Runyon. For example,
there's that little donation of Santa Fe property you made
to the St. John Orphanage."
"They had a truck and volunteered to clean up the
wreckage if they could have the goods. I had to get that
line open, didn't I?"
"Oh, St. John's was real glad to get the army cots," he
said. "And the other things, too."
Mixer found Scrap's old lunch sack in the trash and
proceeded to tear it open.
"What other things?" Hook asked.
"That box of army condoms the kids opened back at the
orphanage. They thought they were goddang balloons. The
priest said it looked like New Year's Eve.
"So the diocese calls Chicago, and Chicago calls me.
Turns out everyone is unhappy."
"Jesus," Hook said.
"You've bagged your limit of Brownies for the year,
Runyon. I don't know if I can head this thing off. Maybe
you ought to learn the salvage business just in case you
have a career change."
"I'd like to visit, Eddie, but there's a corpse
waiting."
"Open and shut like they say," Eddie said.
"Yeah," Hook said. "Like they say."
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