Lee Mossel

A Vintage Revenge Lee Mossel

When an "out of the blue" call from a long forgotten elementary school friend begging Denver private investigator, Cortlandt Scott, to investigate the murder of the richest man in his hometown under the guise of attending his thirty year high school reunion, Scott agrees to come. Although he had left Oregon abruptly after cutting off all contact with his old friends for unknown reasons, he decided the time was right for his return. His memories of the tiny town where he grew up and the burgeoning city of Eugene are disrupted by the new realities of legal marijuana, wineries, and craft breweries replacing the traditional economic forces of logging and lumber mills. He is further dismayed to find several of those long estranged friends and classmates may well have motives to commit murder. His investigation is initially hindered by a newly elected county sheriff who is determined to solve the murder herself and resents Cort's presence and investigation. As he digs deeply into the histories of the multiple suspects, he uncovers a scandal that had remained hidden since high school; a scandal that completely changes the course of his investigation but ultimately leads to a killer. What Cort Scott hadn't anticipated was finding the killer hadn't acted alone. In the end, Cort finds himself suffering deep emotional distress as he sends friends and acquaintances to prison. Even the best of the new Oregon wine vintages can't quite wash away the bad taste left in his mouth and on his mind.