10 Tahoe Trap (46 page)

“As you know, in this country, right or wrong – just like in most countries – money buys influence. I’m a little uncomfortable with that. So I didn’t say that I was going to give any money to any re-election campaigns. I simply explained that I’ve been looking to expand my company’s manufacturing operations, and I decided that instead of outsourcing my needs to Chinese companies, I’m going to build a new plant in the Central Valley where there is a work force with a good work ethic. I let my friends know that doing the right thing is very important to me.

“The end result is that yesterday I got a call from a senator’s office. I was told that they found a way to get the three of you into a program that leads to citizenship.”

Whitehall turned to Paco. “We all know that this is the only country you’ve ever known and that you are as American in spirit and deed and experience as I am. Indeed, you’re even working your own business, and nothing is more American than that. Are you okay with becoming an official American citizen?”

“Yeah,” Paco said. He slowly stood up, looked at everyone and said, “Cassie always said that the only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work. So if we grow a lot of tomatoes and peppers, we’ll probably be okay.”

Spot rolled over onto his side and sighed.

About the Author

Todd Borg and his wife live in Lake Tahoe, where they write and paint. To contact Todd or learn more about the Owen McKenna mysteries, please visit toddborg.com

PRAISE FOR TAHOE HIJACK

 “BEGINNING TO READ TAHOE HIJACK IS LIKE FLOOR-BOARDING A RACE CAR... RATING: A+”

- Cathy Cole, Kittling Books

“A THRILLING READ... any reader will find the pages of his thrillers impossible to stop turning”

- Caleb Cage, The Nevada Review

“NOW I’M HOOKED...Borg not only offers a good mystery, but does a terrific job with some fascinating California history that is both enlightening and gripping”

- Sunny Solomon, Bookin’ with Sunny

“THE BOOK CLIMAXES WITH A TWIST THE READER DOESN’T SEE COMING, WORTHY OF MICHAEL CONNELLY”

- Heather Gould, Tahoe Mountain News

“A FASCINATING AND MUCH RECOMMENDED NOVEL”

- Midwest Book Review

“I HAD TO HOLD MY BREATH DURING THE LAST PART OF THIS FAST-PACED THRILLER”

- Harvee Lau, Book Dilettante

CHOSEN FOR BOOK DILLETANTE’S LIST OF

BEST CRIME READS OF 2011!

PRAISE FOR TAHOE HEAT

“IN TAHOE HEAT, BORG MASTERFULLY WRITES A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS SO INTENSE THAT IT BELONGS IN AN EARLY TOM CLANCY NOVEL”

- Caleb Cage, Nevada Review

“TAHOE HEAT IS A RIVETING THRILLER”

- John Burroughs, Midwest Book Review

“WILL KEEP READERS TURNING THE PAGES AS OWEN RACES TO CATCH A VICIOUS KILLER”

- Barbara Bibel, Booklist

“THE READER CAN’T HELP BUT ROOT FOR McKENNA AS THE BIG, GENEROUS, IRISH-BLOODED, STREET-WISE-YET-BOOK-SMART FORMER COP”

- Taylor Flynn, Tahoe Mountain News

PRAISE FOR TAHOE NIGHT

“BORG HAS WRITTEN ANOTHER WHITE-KNUCKLE THRILLER... A sure bet for mystery buffs waiting for the next Robert B. Parker and Lee Child novels”

- Jo Ann Vicarel, Library Journal

“AN ACTION-PACKED THRILLER WITH A NICE-GUY HERO, AN EVEN NICER DOG...”

- Kirkus Reviews

“A KILLER PLOT... EVERY ONE OF ITS 350 PAGES WANTS TO GET TURNED... FAST”

- Taylor Flynn, Tahoe Mountain News

“PLENTY OF ACTION TO KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT... An excellent addition to this series.”

- Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News

“ANOTHER PAGE-TURNER OF A MYSTERY, with more twists and turns than a roller coaster ride”

- Midwest Book Review

“A FASCINATING STORY OF FORGERY, MURDER...”

- Nancy Hayden, Tahoe Daily Tribune

PRAISE FOR TAHOE AVALANCHE

ONE OF THE TOP 5 MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR!

- Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News

“BORG IS A SUPERB STORYTELLER...A MASTER OF THE GENRE”

- Midwest Book Review

“TAHOE AVALANCHE WAS SOOOO GOOD... A FASCINATING MYSTERY with some really devious characters”

- Merry Cutler, Annie’s Book Stop, Sharon, Massachusetts
                           
 

“EXPLODES INTO A COMPLEX PLOT THAT LEADS TO MURDER AND INTRIGUE”

- Nancy Hayden, Tahoe Daily Tribune

“READERS WILL BE KEPT ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS”

- Sheryl McLaughlin, Douglas Times

“INCLUDE BORG IN THE GROUP OF MYSTERY WRITERS that write with a strong sense of place such as TONY HILLERMAN”
 

- William Clark, The Union

PRAISE FOR TAHOE SILENCE

WINNER, BEN FRANKLIN AWARD, BEST MYSTERY OF THE YEAR!

“A HEART-WRENCHING MYSTERY THAT IS ALSO ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS WRITTEN ABOUT AUTISM”

STARRED REVIEW - Jo Ann Vicarel, Library Journal

CHOSEN BY LIBRARY JOURNAL AS ONE OF THE FIVE BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR

“THIS IS ONE ENGROSSING NOVEL...IT IS SUPERB”

 
- Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News
 

“ANOTHER GREAT READ!!”

 - Shelly Glodowski, Midwest Book Review

 “ANOTHER EXCITING ENTRY INTO THIS TOO-LITTLE-KNOWN SERIES”

-
Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist
 

“A REAL PAGE-TURNER”

-
Sam Bauman, Nevada Appeal
 

PRAISE FOR TAHOE KILLSHOT

“BORG BELONGS ON THE BESTSELLER LISTS with Parker,

Paretsky and Coben”

- Merry Cutler, Annie’s Book Stop, Sharon, Massachusetts

“A GREAT READ!”

-Shelley Glodowski, Midwest Book Review

“A WONDERFUL BOOK”

- Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News

“I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE OWEN McKENNA MYSTERY

SERIES”

- Donna Clark, Librarian, Odessa College, Odessa, Texas

PRAISE FOR TAHOE ICE GRAVE

“BAFFLING CLUES...CONSISTENTLY ENTERTAINS”

- Kirkus Reviews

“A CLEVER PLOT... RECOMMEND THIS MYSTERY”

- John Rowen, Booklist

“A BIG THUMBS UP... MR. BORG’S PLOTS ARE SUPER-TWISTERS”

- Shelley Glodowski, Midwest Book Review

ONE OF THE TOP 5 MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR!

- Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News

“GREAT CHARACTERS, LOTS OF ACTION, AND SOME CLEVER PLOT TWISTS...Readers have to figure they are in for a good ride, and Todd Borg does not disappoint.”

- John Orr, San Jose Mercury News

“A CLEVER PLOT, A SPINE-TINGLING CLIMAX”

- Susan DeRyke, Bookshelf Stores, Tahoe City, California

“ONCE YOU READ AN OWEN McKENNA NOVEL, YOU’RE HOOKED FOR LIFE!”

- Karen Dini, Addison Public Library, Addison, Illinois

PRAISE FOR TAHOE BLOWUP

“A COMPELLING TALE OF ARSON ON THE MOUNTAIN”

- Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen Bookstore

“HIGH TENSION”

- Catherine Abel, Tahoe Mountain News

“RIVETING... A MUST READ FOR MYSTERY FANS!”

- Karen Dini, Addison Public Library, Addison, Illinois

WINNER! BEST MYSTERY OF THE YEAR

- Bay Area Independent Publishers Association

BEN FRANKLIN AWARD, BEST MYSTERY SILVER MEDAL

PRAISE FOR TAHOE DEATHFALL

“THRILLING, EXTENDED RESCUE/CHASE”

- Kirkus Reviews

“A TREMENDOUS READ FROM A GREAT WRITER”

- Shelley Glodowski, Midwest Book Review

“BORG OFFERS A SIMPLY TERRIFIC DOG”

- Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen

“McKENNA IS BRIGHT AND WITTY... SPOT IS A WONDERFULLY DRAWN CHARACTER”

- Marty Steinberg, Deadly Pleasures

LIBRARIAN’S CHOICE, BEST NEW FICTION

- Cincinnati Public Library

WINNER! BEST THRILLER OF THE YEAR

- Bay Area Independent Publishers Association

“A TAUT MYSTERY... A SCREECHING CLIMAX”

- Karen Dini, Addison Public Library, Addison, Illinois

Titles by Todd Borg

TAHOE DEATHFALL

TAHOE BLOWUP

TAHOE ICE GRAVE

TAHOE KILLSHOT

TAHOE SILENCE

TAHOE AVALANCHE

TAHOE NIGHT

TAHOE HEAT

TAHOE HIJACK

TAHOE TRAP

Thriller Press First Edition, August 2012

TAHOE TRAP

Copyright © 2012 by Todd Borg

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Thriller Press, a division of WRST, Inc.

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real locales, establishments, organizations, or events are intended only to give the fiction a sense of verisimilitude. All other names, places, characters and incidents portrayed in this book are the product of the author’s imagination.

 No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from Thriller Press, P.O. Box 551110, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96155.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012937739

ISBN: 978-1-931296-20-5

Cover design and map by Keith Carlson

Manufactured in the United States of America

This Book is for Kit

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In the spring of 2011, I was contacted by The League To Save Lake Tahoe about participating in their big Oscar de la Renta fundraiser, the famous Tahoe fashion show sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue. The show generates a great deal of money for The League To Save Lake Tahoe. With this annual show, Mr. de la Renta and Saks have done a great service to Lake Tahoe.

No, they didn’t want me to strut my stuff down the runway - bummer! - but they wondered if I would be willing to auction off character name rights to a character in my next novel.

Hey, if I can get some hang time with the guy who put gowns on everyone from Jackie Kennedy to Cameron Diaz, I’m in. The show is a great mix of good environmental causes and fashion.

Okay, so I didn’t get to meet Oscar, but my books were there at the estate on Tahoe’s West Shore.

The person who won the auction is Pam Sagan from the Bay Area. Thank you, Pam! Your contribution is hard at work funding efforts to keep Tahoe clear and beautiful.

Pam, and generous people like her, have been critical in the effort to protect Lake Tahoe.

For my part of the deal, this new novel features a character named Pam Sagan. I should point out that I have never met the real Pam Sagan, and I made no effort to shape the book’s fictional character in relation to her.