Elemental Danger
by
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Bruce Duffer was a few years younger than Hardy, probably about fifty. This capable Mecklenburg County detective was seasoned by twenty years of experience. He was about six feet tall, had brown hair, and wore a dress shirt and khakis. He looked over at Hardy.
“Dr. Hardy. We found these remains over here.” Hardy approached cautiously, expecting a water-logged corpse, wet and decayed. “The remains are all skeletal,” he announced, gesturing toward the wooded area up the beach. “We’ve marked and photographed the bones up front. You can check those first.”
Hardy walked toward the first marker, where he found a large bone. He identified it as a left femur (thigh) bone. He marveled at the pristine condition of the bone, a welcome change from the fetid, rotting bodies often encountered by MEs. Detective Duffer had brought him a large, brown paper bag.
“Left femur,” he announced, carefully depositing it into the bag. The bone was white and dry; no adherent organic material remained. The next skeletal element marked was the pelvis. It was completely intact. The osseous ring demonstrated an unmistakably masculine contour. …
“These bones have been here over six months.” The sand, sun, and weather had cleaned and bleached this skeleton to the quality of an anatomic teaching model.
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About the Book
Praise for Elemental Danger “An intriguing blend of suspense and reality.” —Frank Ruff, Virginia senator, 15th district “A tightly told tale that gives you a taste of a unique region with plenty of flavor and characters.” - Dallas Weston, Editor, The News Progress It’s a puzzling case when skeletal remains are discovered on Buggs Island Lake in Southside Virginia. The sand, sun, and weather have cleaned and bleached the skeleton to the quality of an anatomic teaching model. The bones, when later analyzed, emit concentrations of radiation. Dr. Obie Hardy, an on-call medical examiner from nearby Boydton, is summoned to the scene. But this is only the first in a series of unexplained bodies to emerge in this rural lakeside community under mysterious and suspicious circumstances. Hardy and seasoned Mecklenburg County Detective Bruce Duffer teams with Mark McClain, a curious local reporter with The News Progress, in order to get to the bottom of the deaths. Despite the distraction of a corrupt contractor, they discover a link to local mining operations and find themselves among dangerous elements. They must use their intuitions and perseverance to stop the ballooning threat of a major environmental disaster.
About the Author
Willoughby S. Hundley III, MD, graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical school and currently works as an emergency physician. He has written two other novels, including his most recent, Ashes of Deception. Hundley lives with his wife, Lucy, near Buggs Island Lake in Boydton, Virginia.