Battered and Buried

The best-laid plans may go awry, but the best-laid clues could frame a man for murder ...

Never one to let a day off work go to waste, cafe owner Gia Morelli and a friend head out for a blissful kayaking trip through the local national forest. But the peacefulness of the day is soon shattered when they come across Cole, her head cook, standing over a dead body. Worse still, the victim was a lifelong enemy of Cole's, and clues found on the body point to the cook as the culprit. When the police take Cole in and subject him to an intense grilling, Gia vows to do everything she can to prove his innocence.

As even more incriminating evidence surfaces--including when the murder weapon itself is found hidden at the cafe--Gia knows she's up against someone brutal enough to kill and devious enough to frame Cole for the deed. With the police ready to make an official arrest and wrap up what they consider an open-and-shut case, Gia turns for help to an old friend who's not above breaking the law himself. Because if she can't find the killer, Cole may go from serving up hot dishes to serving a life sentence ...