Black Bear Alibi - A Rockfish Island Mystery by J.C. Fuller

 

Ranger Philip Russell has stumbled across a dead body in the forest. Unsure if the woman is a local or someone from the mainland, the new female sheriff has come to the PNW island to determine if the small community still has anything to fear. Eager to solve the mystery, the ranger and sheriff instantly find themselves at odds with each other. Philip, defending the people he's known his whole life, and Sheriff Lane, giving no one the benefit of the doubt-- not even Philip. Together, the investigation progresses, and both quickly realize not everyone is who they pretend to be, and someone on the island is a killer.

Available on Amazon.

 

EXCERPT

Philip Russell pointed the Parks & Rec's pickup truck in the direction of the public entrance and began his morning circulation of Rockfish Island's National Park. Having finished moving the large, yellow roadblock gate to the side of the road, he'd officially opened the north side of the park for the day.

With the heady smell of exhaust upon the crisp air and a plume of white vapor pouring from the truck’s tailpipe, Philip furiously rubbed his hands together. The early spring morning had left a heavy frost on the gate, and the sting of bitter cold could still be felt in his fingertips.

Cautiously reaching over, he kept one eye on the road and cranked the heater up to its highest setting. Already feeling the heat rushing through the vents, he lifted the coffee filled thermos lid off the dash and took a tentative sip of the steaming hot liquid. The island didn’t have a Starbucks.

Slowly coming to a stop, he peered at the outdoor bulletin board, which stood on the right side of the road. Through the passenger window, he saw there was nothing different from the day before, no notes left behind to bring anything to his attention. Even the small payment envelopes and park brochures were still fully stocked.

Noting this was a good start to his day and satisfied all was in order, Philip continued to meander down the park's graveled dirt road at a safe fifteen miles per hour. As a park ranger, Philip knew a deer or elk could unexpectedly come barging across the road. And having received a new patrol truck the month before, he was wanting to keep it as shiny and unblemished as long as possible. It was also the safe and lazy pace of a man, having only slept a few hours the night before, to get an extra cup of coffee down his gullet before hitting the office.

Doing his best to suppress a yawn, Philip slowed the truck even more. He was approaching the third curve of the road, a favorite spot for deer due to the long grass lining the side of the road when a small black furball rambled out in front of his truck. Philip slammed on the brakes, letting out a curse as hot coffee splashed down his thigh. Another ball of fur scurried into the middle of the road, and a third one quickly followed.

“Well, I'll be damned.”

Philip smiled to himself, knowing as well as anyone what black bear cubs looked like. Placing his empty thermos mug on the dash, he slowly reached over and grabbed the shotgun resting in the gun rack by his seat. Three cubs were sure to be followed by a mama bear, and there was never any messing with one of those.

The last two cubs, who had tumbled together in a play fight, stopped to take a curious look at the truck. When one of them bravely began to take a step towards the vehicle, Philip gave the horn a light honk, sending both bundles of fur flying backwards with wariness.

A deep warning growl suddenly came from the left side of the road, and Philip got a good look at the black bear sow. She had materialized out of nowhere, her black fur bristled, muscles moving smoothly beneath. Resting on all fours, her heavy dark paws found the road, lifting her out of the forest trench, her shoulders as high as the hood of his truck.

Eying Philip and the truck with distrust, she let out a loud huff of air and quickly paced herself over to her cubs, encouraging them with her huge body mass to keep moving.

Philip noticed two things about her immediately.

First, she was tagged.

A bright orange colored tag was attached to each of her round ears. Which meant she was one of the three females on the island and, apparently, she'd had three cubs over the winter. A rarity for bears. He would need to let the Department of Wildlife know so they could come out and tag the little critters.

Second, her tan muzzle was colored reddish-brown with blood. This didn't alarm Philip. It was just a curious thing to note. He assumed she'd taken a small fawn or a baby elk and had been enjoying her breakfast when her offspring decided to run off on her. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.C. Fuller is the author of the Rockfish Island Mysteries series.

A lover of all things mystery, especially thrillers and whodunnits, she is excited to share her own imagination with her readers and is currently working on expanding the series.

She lives in Washington state and is a nature lover, enjoying the outdoors with her family whenever possible, and lives at home with her two faithful companion dogs, who also keep her feet warm when she's writing.

Please look for False Findings- A Rockfish Island Mystery: III coming out in May 2022.

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