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Authors: Archer Mayor

Tags: #Mystery

The Catch

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Praise for
THE CATCH

“The Catch
[is] as authentic as it gets.”


The New York Times Book Review

“Superior…will leave fans feeling fully satisfied.”


Publishers Weekly

“Mayor’s skills are equal to the vigor of his imagination, and we take his word for every twist, every turn, every thunderbolt.”


New Yorker

“Elegant, even lyrical prose … a new Joe Gunther is always good news.”


Booklist

“Suspenseful … Mayor’s New England eye mercilessly details what he sees without the ‘calendar nostalgia’ that usually clings to such villages and backwaters … The clever plot expands like a dark whirlpool and reveals the underbelly of Vermont and Maine.”


Providence Journal-Bulletin

“As with all Mayor’s novels, the plot remains fresh and timely. Through his in-depth knowledge of police work, forensics and the medical field, combined with his ability to evoke the Vermont landscape, Mayor deftly brings the reader deep inside the story, taking us along the trail of meticulous detective work needed to bring out the truth.”


Brattleboro Reformer

… and for
ARCHER MAYOR
and his other Joe Gunther novels

“Mayor is a devil of a plotter.”

—Marilyn Stasio,
The New York Times Book Review

“Superb…Mayor spins out parallel storylines and weaves the strands together with deft precision.”


Publishers Weekly
(starred review) on
The Second Mouse

“An intricate, first-rate thriller…a riveting plot and exceptional writing.”


Publishers Weekly
(starred review) on
The Sniper’s Wife

“The writing is strong, with sharp social observations throughout…Gunther grows on you from novel to novel.”


Washington Post Book World

“Mayor keeps getting better with age…Few writers deliver such well-rounded novels of such consistently high quality.”


Arizona Daily Star

“From first to last, [Mayor’s] novels are page-turners, and each page resonates with the author’s authority… His storytelling talents and his sheer craftsmanship combine to make his Joe Gunther books hard to put down.”


Tampa Tribune

“Archer Mayor is one of today’s most reliable—and most underappreciated—crime writers. His low-key police procedurals, which utilize their off-the-beaten-track setting to great advantage, are always entertaining, and his protagonist and iconoclastic supporting cast are unfailingly good company.”


San Diego Union-Tribune

Other Books by Archer Mayor

Chat
The Second Mouse
St. Albans Fire
The Surrogate Thief
Gatekeeper
The Sniper’s Wife
Tucker Peak
The Marble Mask
Occam’s Razor
The Disposable Man
Bellows Falls
The Ragman’s Memory
The Dark Root
Fruits of the Poisonous Tree
The Skeleton’s Knee
Scent of Evil
Borderlines
Open Season

THE CATCH
A Joe Gunther Novel

Archer Mayor

St. Martin’s Paperbacks

NOTE:
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE CATCH

Copyright © 2008 by Archer Mayor.
Excerpt from
The Price of Malice
copyright © 2009 by Archer Mayor.

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martin’s Press. 175 Fifth Avenue. New York, NY 10010.

EAN: 978-0-312-36515-8

Printed in the United States of America

Minotuar Books edition/October 2008
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition/September 2009

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press. 175 Fifth Avenue. New York. NY 10010.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Nancy, with love and thanks

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No Joe Gunther book would have ever come into existence without the advice and expertise of dozens of people, and
The Catch
is no exception. I always hope that I honor the time, effort, and input that such kind folks so willingly give me by reflecting with some accuracy their contributions. That having been said, I know I stumble regularly. With that in mind, I thank those below, and so many others, while accepting full responsibility for any gaffes my readers might encounter in the following tale. Mike McGonigle

 

Mike McGonigle         
Julie Lavorgna
Nancy Aichele         
Steven L. Waterman
John Martin         
Phil Crossman
Darrell Crandall         
Jim Acheson
David Dent         
Ralph Bridges
Bill Parker         
Brian Smith
Marci Sorg         
Kathryn Tolbert
Janet Champlin         
Phil and Sue Peverada and family
Ed David         
Chris and Lisa Montagna
Harry Bailey         
Ray Walker
Castle Freeman         
Eric Caron
Paco Aumand         
Paulina Essunger
Brian Andersen         
 
Harold Polley         
 

 

Also:

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency

The Maine Marine Patrol

The Maine State Police

Maine Public Radio

The Vermont State Police

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The Vermont Forensic Laboratory

        CHAPTER 1        

Deputy Sheriff Brian Sleuter was looking for a better country/western station when the Toyota flew by, spraying a few roadside pebbles against the front bumper of his cruiser.

“Jesus Christ, Bud,” he said softly, turning on his headlights, putting the car into gear, and hitting his blue lights—all in a single, well-practiced gesture— “why don’t you flip me the bird while you’re at it?”

He fishtailed into the road from his hiding place, his rear tires spinning before gaining purchase, and took off down Vermont Route 7 with a burst from the Impala’s built-up engine, the Toyota’s rear lights already fading fast into the late-night summer darkness. This stretch of road—straight, isolated, and well paved—was a magnet for speeders.

It was long after midnight, and Sleuter had been waiting patiently for just such an opportunity. In the split second that his well-trained eye had glimpsed the interior of the car, illuminated only by its own dash lights, he’d caught sight of two people, both young males. That, combined with the Toyota being older, dark-colored, and nondescript in appearance—and that
it was headed south from the direction of Burlington and possibly Canada—helped him think he might be about to tag his first drug runner in five weeks.

That had been way too long for a certifiable, self-admitted Type-A personality like Brian Sleuter. He saw himself as a man on the make, and the faster that he created a name for himself, the sooner he could move up to some outfit like ATF or DEA where he could really throw the book at the bad guys.

The Toyota grew in size before him as he pushed the accelerator to the floor. Official police denials notwithstanding, high-speed rundowns had their thrills. The engine’s unleashed roar, the sudden blurring of scenery on both sides, pulsing to the strobe bar’s steady beat, heightened the defiant, indomitable sense of superiority that washed through Sleuter every time he put on his uniform. He’d been told that wasn’t a good thing—that it ran counter to the whole professional, courteous, protect-and-serve bullshit the boss spouted at monthly trainings—but he knew what he knew, which was that a gun and a badge made for a good argument in a fight, and that he had no interest in being a social worker.

Call him a jackass if you had front teeth to spare, but at least he was no loser.

The Toyota began slowing down, pulling over to the side of the narrow road. Ahead of them both, a pair of headlights crested a distant hill, aiming their way. Sleuter instinctively charted their progress, as he was simultaneously watching for any suspicious activity from the Toyota, but all the on-comer did was slow as they always did upon sight of the blue lights, before
sliding by timidly as Sleuter angled his cruiser to a stop behind his quarry.

He hit the spotlight switch by his left window, freezing the car before him in a blinding halo, and removed the radio mike from its cradle.

“Fifty-one—Dispatch.”

“Fifty-one. This is Dispatch.”

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