Showing CAUTION: Tram Approaching by Philip Johnson

SYNOPSIS

CAUTION: Tram Approaching
A novel in the Jack Diamond,Private Investigator Mystery Adventure Series
copyright 2012 by Philip Johnson

Missing person cases generally fall into the dime-a-dozen category for Las Vegas Private Investigator, Jack Diamond. To be sure they help pay the bills though his basic lifestyle comes nowhere close to the flash and dash kitsch filled atmosphere of Sin City. That being said, Jack Diamond’s lifestyle is far from dull and boring.
There is always the exception of course and on occasion a case ends up with enough twists and turns to qualify for a classic theme park thrill ride. In the instance of CAUTION: Tram Approaching, two murders and an unfortunate emotion wrenching accident provide additional intrigue to the case for Jack and his special (make that very special) associate, Melissa Blanchard.
Initially, Jack is summoned to the office of the Western Sun Insurance Agency whose offices are in the same west of the Las Vegas Strip building as Jack Diamond. It seems an executive from a mid-west life and casualty insurance company represented by Western Sun has failed to return from what was purported to be a business trip to Las Vegas.
Jack rarely if ever turns down a case from Western Sun, one of his leading sources of repeat business. Jack accepts the case in an appreciative, but not totally enthusiastic fashion. It didn’t require a lot of initial inquiry however before Jack sensed there was something more going on other than yet another wayward soul who got over extended at the tables, over loaded in the lounge and over-sexed in a few of the cities more infamous ‘Gentlemen’s Clubs’.
Jack rarely, if ever, turns down a case from Western Sun, one of his leading sources of repeat business. Jack takes on the case in an appreciative, but not totally enthusiastic fashion. It didn’t require a lot of inquiry however before Jack sensed there was something more going on than yet another wayward soul who got over extended at the tables, over loaded in the lounge and over-sexed in a few of the more infamous ‘Gentlemen’s Clubs’.
Once again Jack turns to his close confidant and personal friend, Captain Hank Mathis, head of the Criminal Investigation Division in the Metro PD. The Captain quickly places the name of the missing insurance exec on the ever-changing Clark County missing persons list. Even though the search progresses, it frustratingly lacks some critical ingredients, such as sufficient clues to begin to produce a trail worth following. In short order, the pace does quicken when it becomes clear that the object of the search didn’t just decide on the spur of the moment to become another Vegas good–time-Charley.
At various points in the book the reader may be tempted to run to some premature conclusions. Caution; You’ll probably be wrong for one thing and you’ll miss some meaningful tenderhearted deep emotional intrigue that is in fact critical to the stories ultimate conclusion. And this is to say nothing about a bevy of clues that could otherwise keep you on track, (pun intended). That track will take you on a train adventure in Easter Europe, which follows another train escape that begins in a most unlikely manner in Las Vegas. As events eventually dictate, tracks will indeed provide meaningful and dramatically opposite outcomes.
Reader Alert: As you read CAUTION: Tram Approaching be aware that some of the characters may not be who they say they are and events aren't always what they seem to be.