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The D.A. holds a candle

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The D.A. Holds a Candle

There is a frost blight in Madison City that threatens the citrus crop. Ranchers use smudge pots as a defense against freezing. D.A. Doug Selby has to deal with a young man who forged a check. The Sheriff questions Ross Blaine about his activities. They learn about the gambling in the back room of the "Palm Thatch". Sheriff Rex Brandon and Selby visit Oscar Triggs to warn him about corrupting young men of modest means into a gambling habit. The scenes described are of a California that is gone forever, like the inter-urban street cars. A Sheriff has to be diplomatic with the Chief of Police (Chapter IV). A dead man is found in one of the cabins at a motor court. There are three whiskey glasses in a room for two. The investigation brings Brandon and Selby back to the "Palm Thatch" (Chapter V). They question the people around the poker table in the back room.

In Chapter VI we learn about the dead man's history. Then Selby gets a phone call from a woman who says the dead man was murdered; it wasn't an accident! Sylvia Martin talks about "life as it is lived" and the power of the Stapleton family (sugar beet factory). Selby learns more about the case in Chapter VIII and tracks down the buyer of that whiskey bottle (Chapter IX). Why is Selby prying into an accidental death (Chapter X)? The factory owner with the largest payroll in town had power and prestige (Chapter XII). He wants Selby to drop his investigation, or else. Is a wicked coyote chasing the mamma rabbit (Chapter XIII)? Selby continues to follow the leads in this case, and uncovers more facts. Selby gets more information on Emil Watkins, the dead man. This leads to more facts on his daughter Marcia who was injured in a hit-and-run accident, and died. The attending nurse tells about it. Selby retrieves Marcia's suitcases, and finds another clue (Chapter XVI). George Stapleton's old car fits the description of the hit-and-run vehicle, but he denies it.

The L.A. detective explains how gamblers work in pairs. The accomplice plays the prize sucker who loses and loses after first winning from the other players (Chapter XVIII). They go to raid the location. Selby takes one of the gamblers back to Madison City, then arranges a script for a telephone call. This works, the gambler tells all about the murder and the cover-up (Chapter XIX). Do the pampered and idle get into trouble? Inez Stapleton has decided to do something with her life and study law. [This series about a District Attorney in a rural California county reminds me of Gardner's more famous series.]