Full Curl

by Dave Butler

  Willson looked at the layers of tape on her handlebar, the ridges mirroring the growth rings on the sheep horns she’d seen hanging on Castillo’s wall months earlier. After all I’ve been through with this case, she thought, all the ups and downs and dead ends, all the distractions and deceit, maybe this is what real justice looks like. Maybe.

  Willson’s cellphone rang again, breaking her internal debate. “Willson here.”

  “Jenny, it’s Marilyn at the office. The chief wants to talk to you about a ski area. Can you get there right away?”

  “I’m out for a bike ride,” said Willson. “I’ll be in right after lunch if that works for him. What’s a ski area got to do with me?”

  “I have no idea. I guess you’ll find out when you get there. I’ll tell him you’ll be in.” The dispatcher disconnected.

  Willson raised her head to look at Mount Rundle, high above Banff. The patches of snow on the north side that had survived the long summer were grey and sad. A brisk wind pushed tails of clouds off the top ridge. Sensing movement out of the corner of her eye, her gaze shifted to a rocky bluff above the road. There, peering down at her, was a lone bighorn ram, its horns full curl. The animal lifted its nose to sniff the wind. Clouds of vapour drifted upward from its exhalations. Turning, it climbed higher up the bank and disappeared behind the bluff.

  “You’re welcome,” said Willson, smiling.

  Acknowledgements

  From idea to published novel, Full Curl’s gestation can be measured in years, if not decades. Many people played a part in that process.

  First, I want to acknowledge and thank Mike Gibeau, who, at one stop on his inspiring evolution from bull rider to Ph.D.-carrying conservation scientist, was my warden partner in Banff National Park. This is a work of fiction, but Mike will recognize the seeds of the story.

  Angie Abdou, celebrated novelist and creative writing professor, persuaded me to dust off an abandoned manuscript, and with wise counsel and constant encouragement, helped me transform it into something worth sharing with readers. My sincere gratitude, Angie.

  Thanks to those who read and commented on early versions of Full Curl: Karolina Ekman, Ingrid Dilschneider, ER Brown, my incredibly patient wife, Heather, and Dinah Forbes, the “doyen of Canadian crime fiction.” And thanks to the many close friends and family (this means Court, Curt, Christy, Barrie, and my writer brother Bruce) who seemed excited about my writing and urged me to keep going.

  The team at Dundurn Press has been a joy to work with. From my first contact with Carrie Gleason and Sheila Douglas, to Margaret Bryant, Michelle Melski, Maryan Gibson (a superb editor!), Cheryl Hawley, and Laura Boyle, they’ve all made my first foray into the mysterious world of publishing fiction an easier journey. And for their constant encouragement, a special thanks to Erin and the team at Lotus Books in Cranbrook, B.C.

  My technical advisors for Full Curl were RCMP Sergeant Chris Newel and B.C. Conservation Officer Service Inspector Joe Caravetta, along with unnamed Canadian and American border officers who answered my strange questions despite, I’m sure, wondering what my real agenda was in asking. Despite their excellent advice, any errors in law or procedure are mine.

  A special note of appreciation to award-wining writer Ian Hamilton (and to author Deryn Collier, for introducing us). Over a glass or two of Forty Creek whisky in a Toronto bar, Ian kindly offered advice that dramatically changed my perspective on this book. “Let your wife read it,” he said, “… and why don’t you write a series?” Both worked out very well.

  Finally, I dedicate Full Curl to my father, Rod, and to my grandson Mason, my generational bookends who are in my thoughts every day. This one is for you.

  Of Related Interest

  Strange Things Done

  Elle Wild

  2015 Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel — Winner

  2014 Telegraph/Harvill Secker Crime Competition — Shortlisted

  2014 Southwest Writers Annual Novel Writing Contest — Silver Winner

  2014 Criminal Lines Crime-Writing Competition — Shortlisted

  2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award — Longlisted

  A dark and suspenseful noir thriller, set in the Yukon.

  As winter closes in and the roads snow over in Dawson City, Yukon, newly arrived journalist Jo Silver investigates the dubious suicide of a local politician and quickly discovers that not everything in the sleepy tourist town is what it seems. Before long, law enforcement begins treating the death as a possible murder and Jo is the prime suspect.

  Strange Things Done is a top-notch thriller — a tense and stylish crime novel that explores the double themes of trust and betrayal.

  Cold Girl

  R.M. Greenaway

  2014 Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel — Winner

  It’s too cold to go missing in northern B.C., as a mismatched team of investigators battle the clock while the disappearances add up.

  A popular rockabilly singer has vanished in the snowbound Hazeltons of northern B.C. Lead RCMP investigator David Leith and his team work through the possibilities: has she been snatched by the so-called Pickup Killer, or does the answer lie here in the community, somewhere among her reticent fans and friends?

  Leith has much to contend with: rough terrain and punishing weather, motel-living and wily witnesses. The local police force is tiny but headstrong, and one young constable seems more hindrance than help — until he wanders straight into the heart of the matter.

  The urgency ramps up as one missing woman becomes two, the second barely a ghost passing through. Suspects multiply, but only at the bitter end does Leith discover who is the coldest girl of all.

  Copyright © Dave Butler, 2017

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purpose of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

  All characters in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover image: ©Alastair Wallace/shutterstock.com

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Butler, Dave, 1958-, author

  Full curl / Dave Butler.

  (A Jenny Willson mystery)

  Issued in print and electronic formats.

  ISBN 978-1-4597-3903-1 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3904-8 (PDF).--

  ISBN 978-1-4597-3905-5 (EPUB)

  I. Title.

  PS8603.U838F85 2017 C813’.6 C2017-900100-0

  C2017-900101-9

  We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country, and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Government of Canada.

  Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

  Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

  J. Kirk Howard, President

  The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content unless they are owned by the publisher.

 

 

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