State of Life

Decades ago, Marion County Sheriff Mason Jones investigated the disappearance of a young female cross-country runner who didn't return home after a local high school competition. No ransom was ever demanded, and the only piece of evidence ever recovered was a single running shoe with a spot of blood that had seeped into the laces. After a long and exhaustive search, the missing girl was never found, and eventually, the investigation was listed as unsolved. The case notes and shoe were boxed up and stuck in an evidence locker where they'd wither and die, just like the young female athlete. What Mason didn't realize at the time was this: The missing girl wasn't the only one abducted. Over the years, there'd been more. Many more...

Virgil Jones, lead detective for the state's Major Crimes Unit is still struggling after the loss of a friend and coworker. Ron Miles was ambushed and shot to death on a previous case while rounding up the last holdout of a group of drug-runners in Southern Indiana. Virgil and Ron had weathered a tenuous relationship over the years, but Virgil's guilt over putting Ron into a position that ultimately cost him his life is tearing him apart...

In French Lick, Indiana, just south of the Lost River, an elderly man is found dead in his garage. His morning newspaper and cup of coffee are sitting on the workbench next to his chair. In one hand he held an unlit cigarette; in the other a simple Bic lighter. His head is tipped back in the chair as if he might have experienced the most tranquil death anyone could ever hope for. The family, the authorities, and even the emergency medical personnel all agreed...it looked like he'd simply closed his eyes to rest, then peacefully drifted off to wherever the dead go when their time comes. But time is mysterious, looks can be