"Q" Is for Quarry
LC Class PS3557.R13 Q15 2002 | | |
Preceded by | "P" Is for Peril | |
---|---|---|
Followed by | "R" Is for Ricochet |
"Q" Is for Quarry is the 17th novel in
Plot summary
While moving into her new office, Kinsey Millhone receives a visit from Lt. Con Dolan of the Santa Teresa Sheriff’s Department. Dolan comes bearing bad news: retired STSD Detective Stacey Oliphant is dying of
After Kinsey pursues a couple of false leads, Dolan and Oliphant suggest focusing their investigation on a career criminal named Frankie Miracle, who was arrested in Lompoc within days of the Doe murder for killing his girlfriend. They have always believed Miracle killed Doe, but were never able to prove it. Miracle’s former cellmate Cedric “Pudgie” Clifton confirms that Miracle claimed to have killed a second woman in circumstances which match the Doe murder. The recently paroled Miracle denies any knowledge of the Doe crime and flatly refuses to cooperate.
STSD Sgt. Detective Joe Mandel discovers that a red Ford Mustang mentioned in the original report as possibly belonging to the killer was stolen from an auto upholsterer in Quorum, a small town near the Arizona border and suspiciously close to Miracle’s own hometown. The car was recovered and sold to the owner of the shop, Ruel MacPhee, who has kept it ever since.
In Quorum, Dolan and Kinsey find the auto shop being run by Ruel MacPhee's son, Cornell. MacPhee’s mother-in-law, Medora Sanders, identifies Jane Doe as Charisse Quinn, a
Forensic reports on the Mustang reveal Pudgie Clifton’s fingerprints. Oliphant and Kinsey begin an extensive but unsuccessful search for Clifton. In doing so, they learn he had dated Justine before she met Cornell. Quorum police find Clifton dead in an unfinished, abandoned apartment complex called the Tuley-Belle.
George Baum reveals that Cornell MacPhee had begun a sexual relationship with Quinn and that Adrienne had interrupted the two of them once at the Tuley-Belle. Adrienne confirms Baum’s story, adding that Quinn told Cornell she was pregnant and wanted to
In an epilogue, Kinsey explains that Justine killed Charisse Quinn for seducing Cornell, who Justine saw as a future source of financial security. Justine convinced Pudgie Clifton to steal the Mustang and dispose of Quinn's body. When Clifton told her the case had been reopened, she killed him to keep him quiet and forced her husband to dispose of the body as she had with Clifton 20 years before.
Development of the novel
Though the book is a work of fiction, it is based on an unsolved homicide that occurred in
References
- ^ Shafner, Rhonda (October 31, 2002). "Sue Grafton turns to crime; Real murder inspires author's 17th alphabet-series mystery". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- ^ Enger, Jeremy (October 21, 2002). "Best Bets". Austin American-Statesman.
'Q is for Quarry,' 'R' is for reading, 'S' is for signing. The only writers who might get more mileage out of the alphabet than Sue Grafton are the ones working for Sesame Street.
- ^ "For mystery writer, S is for success". St. Petersburg Times. November 11, 2002.
- Book. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
- ^ Brantingham, Barney (July 21, 2011). "Who Was Jane Doe? True Life Subject of Sue Grafton's Q Is for Quarry Still a Mystery". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ "Information Needed, "Jane Doe" Homicide". Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. Archived from the original on November 26, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
External links
- Sue Grafton Alphabet Series official site