Air Force Blues: The Sandeen Mysteries, Book Two
Dennis E. Smirl
- Master
- Sergeant
- Alvin
- Templeton,
- USAF,
- went
- missing
- from
- his
- highly-classified
- job
- at
- Forbes
- Air
- Force
- Base.
- Thirty-five
- years
- later,
- his
- son,
- Robert
- Templeton
- manages
- to
- get
- Sandeen
- interested
- in
- the
- disappearance.
- The
- Air
- force
- thinks
- Sergeant
- Templeton
- is
- a
- deserter;
- his
- son
- thinks
- he's
- a
- victim
- of
- a
- murderous
- misdeed.As
- Sandeen
- looks
- into
- the
- matter,
- he
- learns
- that
- Sergeant
- Templeton
- was
- a
- man
- with
- an
- eye—and
- a
- camera—for
- the
- ladies.
- He
- may
- or
- man
- not
- have
- been
- into
- pornography,
- but
- he
- was
- certainly
- into
- infidelity.
- Beyond
- that,
- Templeton
- was
- an
- actor,
- appearing
- in
- local
- performances
- under
- assumed
- stage
- names,
- and
- always
- in
- a
- role
- that
- required
- a
- lot
- of
- makeup
- that
- hid
- his
- real
- appearance.
- Managing
- all
- that,
- while
- still
- holding
- a
- critical
- job
- in
- the
- Air
- Force
- was
- a
- lot
- for
- any
- man
- to
- handle,
- and
- Sandeen
- wonders
- if
- he
- didn't
- just
- walk
- away.During
- the
- early
- stages
- of
- the
- investigation,
- Sandeen
- becomes
- involved
- with
- a
- woman
- named
- Amanda
- Carter,
- a
- Wyoming
- cop
- who
- seems
- to
- know
- more
- about
- Sandeen's
- business
- than
- she
- should.
- Still,
- he's
- attracted
- to
- her,
- and
- maintains
- a
- relationship
- that
- may
- not
- be
- good
- for
- his
- long-term
- health.Digging
- even
- deeper
- into
- the
- mystery,
- Sandeen
- begins
- to
- think
- that
- Alvin
- Templeton
- is
- a
- ringer.
- He
- travels
- to
- Oklahoma
- to
- check
- into
- Templeton's
- roots,
- and
- after
- some
- due
- diligence
- learns
- that
- Alvin
- Templeton
- was
- badly
- injured
- in
- a
- traffic
- accident
- when
- still
- a
- child,
- and
- never
- fully
- recovered
- from
- those
- injuries.
- Left
- with
- a
- bad
- limp,
- due
- to
- one
- leg
- being
- shorter
- than
- another,
- Alvin
- Templeton
- was
- a
- cripple
- who
- would
- never
- have
- been
- allowed
- to
- enlist
- in
- the
- Air
- Force.The
- situation
- gets
- ever
- more
- complicated
- as
- Sandeen
- is
- confronted
- by
- the
- Air
- Force's
- Office
- of
- Special
- Investigations.
- As
- he
- avoids
- trouble
- by
- telling
- them
- everything
- he
- knows,
- it
- becomes
- likely,
- if
- not
- obvious,
- that
- the
- man
- posing
- as
- Alvin
- Templeton
- was
- probably
- a
- Soviet
- spy,
- trained
- in
- Russia
- and
- sent
- to
- the
- USA
- as
- a
- very
- young
- man.If
- Sandeen's
- suspicions
- are
- correct,
- then
- the
- real
- Alvin
- Templeton
- was
- murdered,
- probably
- by
- his
- stand-in,
- or
- by
- his
- handler.
- And
- if
- the
- man
- pretending
- to
- be
- Templeton
- had
- a
- handler,
- who
- was
- he?Sandeen's
- continued
- inquiry
- exposes
- the
- handler,
- and
- results
- in
- an
- unwanted
- and
- unexpected
- death.
- One
- of
- the
- veterans
- who
- served
- with
- the
- man
- who
- posed
- as
- Templeton
- is
- murdered
- to
- keep
- him
- quiet.The
- pieces
- keep
- falling
- into
- place,
- and
- Sandeen
- gets
- an
- almost-complete
- pictures
- of
- the
- whole,
- sordid,
- thirty-five
- year-old
- affair.
- One
- thing
- that
- does
- not
- fall
- in
- place
- is
- Amanda
- Carter's
- presence.
- Sandeen
- digs
- just
- enough
- to
- know
- that
- she
- was
- sent
- at
- him,
- rather
- than
- their
- meeting
- being
- just
- a
- chance
- encounter.
- When
- they
- confront
- the
- issue,
- Sandeen
- gets
- the
- rest
- of
- the
- truth.Dealing
- with
- the
- relationship
- becomes
- even
- more
- difficult
- when
- Amanda
- goes
- back
- to
- work
- in
- Wyoming
- and
- then
- shows
- up
- unexpectedly
- for
- a
- long
- weekend.
- He
- goes
- outside
- to
- meet
- her,
- and
- two
- men
- who
- have
- a
- long-term,
- deadly
- grudge
- against
- Sandeen
- attack
- them.
- Amanda
- is
- armed,
- and
- meets
- the
- attack
- with
- deadly
- force,
- killing
- both
- men.Resolving
- the
- issue
- of
- the
- killings
- takes
- time,
- and
- Amanda
- lives
- with
- Sandeen
- until
- she
- is
- cleared
- of
- all
- wrong-doing.
- After
- everything
- settles
- down,
- Amanda
- decides
- to
- head
- back
- to
- Wyoming
- and
- live
- her
- own
- life.
- Sandeen
- lets
- go,
- but
- hopes
- that
- at
- some
- point,
- she'll
- change
- her mind.
