Site for Murder

Phyllobates terribilis, a tiny, gold frog found only in Columbia, South America and considered the most deadly of the poison dart frogs, is the murder weapon used to kill undercover agent Detective Thane Beveries at the archaeological excavation Site 44CCL1 of the Ancient Chinook town of Cathlapotle located in Clark County, Washington. Graduate archaeologist Heidi Gottlieb and her new partner Kit Kittridge discover more than artifacts when excavating their unit and a claw-like hand is unearthed. Heidi and Kit find themselves embroiled in an international crime ring’s expansion operation aimed at the American Northwest. The murder of Thane Beveries at the site strongly indicates that a mole has been planted by the crime ring in their midst. Another murder and the ominous omen of a dead owl, found hung upside down and strung across a nearby excavation unit, presages imminent danger.