It’s the Fourth of July, time for fun, games, parades, and fireworks–not murder. The rapist and murderer was dead. There was peace in four counties. No one expected murder to take place in the center of town in Garrettsville after the parade.

The whole police department was in the center of town, taking part in one way or another in the parade–either in it or directing traffic. It was a big event. They were celebrating 200 years. There was a carnival in town, lawn sales, stalls set up on Main Street, six Meals on Wheels vans all over town. There were old cars on display, horseback rides, Amish buggy rides, and golf cart rides, wagon rides for those who couldn’t do a lot of walking.

Then a shot rang out. Detective Gideon Granger hurried to the scene, but already his policemen were at the scene. CSI teams had to be called in from Ravenna PD.

Four people had been killed. It was going to be a long four days if the investigation lasted longer than the four-day holiday. People from four or five different states were in for this shindig. If Gideon didn’t catch the killer in those four days, these people would scatter twelve dozen different directions.

It was time to call in the help of the Faldare Riders, who had been so helpful in Gideon’s last murder case.