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In farmer and part-time Constable Ned Parker combine forces with John Washington the almost mythical black deputy sheriff from nearby Paris to track down a disturbed individual who is rapidly becoming a threat to the entire small Texas community of Center Springs When Ned is summoned to a hot cornfield one morning to examine the remains of a tortured bird dog he finds a dark presence in their quiet community A farmer by trade Ned is usually confident when it comes to handling moonshiners drunks and domestic disputes But the animal atrocities turn to murder and the investigation spins beyond his abilities After a dizzying series of twists eccentric characters and dead-ends Nedxs friend cranky Judge OC Rains is forced to contact the FBI Worse sinister warnings that his family has been targeted by the killer lead Ned to the startling discovery that he knows the murderer very well After the failed abduction of his precocious grandchildren Top and Pepper the old lawman becomes judge and jury to end the murder spree in the Red River bottomlands With a heart-pounding pace country humor and a stunning climax speaks to the darkness in us all In bald-headed pot-bellied Ned Parker Wortham has created an authentic American hero who will put you in mind of the best heroes and antiheroes youxve ever experienced The year was the end of an era in Center Springs and the climax may well shock your civilized sensibilities.