Roger H Broom

Scorned Vulgate Roger H Broom

A terrified beggar confronts bow-tied business consultant, Ryan Bach, in festive Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas. The panicked panhandler thrusts a filthy bag into Bach's cuff-linked arms, and flees. Research reveals the sack holds a rare Latin Vulgate inscribed by Juan Pizarro's priest during the sixteenth century Spanish conquest of the Incas. The Vulgate hints of linkage with an improbable myth of Incan gold, buried along the Brazos River in Texas, at a location identified by a fabled rawhide map. Bookish Bach's unlikely friend-good-ol'-boy homicide detective, J. W. Hood-discovers the Michoacán Drug Cartel tortured and murdered the frightened beggar, ostensibly for his ancient Vulgate, and for reasons beyond the value of mere treasure. Bach becomes the target of cartel threats of torture, kidnapping attempts, and extortion to possess the old Bible. Heather Spenser, Bach's brilliant, skilled, and alluring executive assistant joins Detective Hood to protect her boss, expose the myth, and rid themselves of constant intimidation. They collide with cartel goons on competing treasure quests, clambering through a perilous labyrinth of clues emanating from Mexico, South America, and Texas. All are flabbergasted with where the odyssey ends, and what is discovered.