Two Dead Men in Rock Creek Park

Book excerpt: This murder mystery and psychological novel tells of the tangled lives and loves of powerful figures in 1970s post-Watergate Washington. Catherine Lafitte has made peace with her past and with her husband, Hamilton "Hap" Lafitte, the philandering, hard-drinking US Senator from Lake City, Florida. She has a big house in the country and a lover in town, and has pushed herself to the top level of Washington society. Arthur Bernardi, Catherine's lover and famous sculptor, lives in an old house that overlooks Rock Creek Park with his alcoholic musician friend Cal Canoun. At a raucous party featuring the music of 91-year-old jazz musician Benny King, we meet Harold Smith-Green, Catherine's former lover, known in the media as "The Shadow Tycoon", Niki, the beautiful spoiled brat from horse country, Chloe the scheming left-wing columnist, Abilene Dooley, Washington's favorite courtesan, and Buck Reston, psychiatrist to the rich and famous. Two days later their world is blown apart by the by the early morning discovery of two dead men in Rock Creek Park. Agents Richard Kuprovic and Joe Geraghty, the "Mutt & Jeff" of the FBI, conduct a frustrating murder investigation lightened by Kuprovic's bantering relationship with girlfriend Cass Alexander, society girl turned fashion photographer. Two mysterious poisoning deaths occur, a delightful May afternoon drive to Maryland's Eastern Shore ends tragically and streetwalker Willa Hodges tells a frightening story. The solution of the mystery, inadvertently given away but unnoticed in the middle of the book, is bizarre and completely unexpected.