Santa Fe attorney Ed Eagle returns—and so does his past—in this riveting thriller from #1  New York Times bestselling author Stuart Woods. Ed Eagle, the six-foot-seven, take-no-prisoners Santa Fe attorney, is no stranger to murder, corruption, or organized crime—both north and south of the border. Ed has recovered from his encounters with Mexican organized crime and his ex-wife, Barbara—who’s much more dangerous. But now a mysterious new client has come his way, one who may shed light into some dark corners of Ed's past...and put him in danger once more. Praise for Stuart Woods “Stuart Woods is a no-nonsense, slam-bang storyteller.”— Chicago Tribune “A world-class mystery writer...I try to put Woods’s books down and I can’t.”— Houston Chronicle  “Mr. Woods, like his characters, has an appealing way of making things nice and clear.”— The New York Times “Woods certainly knows how to keep the pages turning.”— Booklist “Since 1981, readers have not been able to get their fill of Stuart Woods’  New York Times  bestselling novels of suspense.”— Orlando Sentinel “Woods’s Stone Barrington is a guilty pleasure...he’s also an addiction that’s harder to kick than heroin.”— Contra Costa Times  (California) Stuart Woods was the author of more than ninety novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling Stone Barrington series. A native of Georgia and an avid sailor and pilot, he began his writing career in the advertising industry. Chiefs , his debut in 1981, won the Edgar Award. Woods passed away in 2022. 1 Ed Eagle sat at his breakfast table and watched his new wife, Susannah Wilde, cook his breakfast. He was a lucky man, he thought. She set down two plates of huevos rancheros and joined him. “What are you doing today?” he asked. He was concerned that she might become bored, and he didn’t want that. “I’m having lunch with a producer I worked with a few years back, Dan Karman. You remember that novel I bought a few weeks ago?” “Yes, sure.” “Danny’s written a screenplay based on it, and we’re going to talk about shooting it in Santa Fe.” Susannah was a well-known actress. “Sounds great,” Eagle replied, and he meant it. He didn’t want her spending a lot of time in L.A., shooting a movie. “What are you up to?” Susannah asked. “The usual. I’m having a first meeting with a man who’s been charged with murdering his wife. It happened early this morning.” “You meet such nice people in your work,” she said. “Oh, this one’s quite a nice fellow, I’m told, and he might even be innocent.” “I thought all your clients were innocent.” “He’s not my client yet,” Eagle replied. “If he’s not innocent now, he will be by the end of the day.” Susannah laughed. “That’s my Ed,” she said, pouring him a second cup of coffee. “Do you remember a film producer named James Long?” Eagle put down his coffee. “I certainly do,” he replied. “He’s the guy who furnished Barbara’s alibi in her trial for murdering those people at the Hotel Bel-Air, when she thought she was murdering me.” “Long has his own production company, backed by inherited wealth, and Danny thinks he might be a good choice to get this film made. How would you feel about that?” Eagle shrugged. “I don’t have anything against the guy,” he said. “I suppose he’s as much Barbara’s victim as I. She drugged him, left the house, shot those two people, then returned before he woke up. He thought she was in bed with him the whole time, and testified to that.” “Long might be the best way to go,” she said. “He puts up a big chunk of the production money, then raises the rest from private investors, so he doesn’t have to take any crap from a studio.” “Sounds good, but how does he distribute?” “He has a good track record for making successful films on moderate budgets, so the distributors look on him favorably. Shouldn’t be a problem.” “I liked the novel,” Eagle said. “I hope you get a good screenplay.” “You can read it tonight,” she said, clearing the table. AN HOUR LATER Eagle sat in the attorneys’ visiting room at the Santa Fe Municipal Jail, waiting for his prospective client. He read through a single-page report put together by an associate in his firm. Terrence Hanks, known as Tip, is a twenty-nine-year-old golf professional, born in Delano, Georgia, a small town, and educated in the public schools and on a golf scholarship at Florida State University. He got his PGA Tour card six years ago and moved to Santa Fe two and a half years ago, building a house out at Las Campanas. Ten months ago he married Constance Clay Winston, the ex-wife of another golf pro, Tim Winston. She and Hanks were having an affair while she was still married to Winston. Yesterday, Hanks returned home after uncharacteristically missing the cut at a tournament in Dallas. His story is that he found his wife in their bed, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. He called 911. The police found a handgun near the bed that had Hanks’s fingerprints on it and charged him with murder. He was referred to you by