The Tetley Diamond - The Ark & Eddie Mysteries, #1

John Tetley is found dead on the library floor of his sprawling estate, shot once in the back. His wall safe stands open, and the legendary Tetley diamond—an heirloom worth millions—is missing.

The obvious explanation is burglary. The evidence says otherwise.

Cash, bonds, and other valuables remain untouched. The household servants all resigned the night before the murder. Tetley's recently married widow claims she was taking a solitary drive when he died. And when Eddie Silas discovers the missing ring near a library window, the investigation appears to have resolved itself—until laboratory testing reveals that the recovered stone is a sophisticated counterfeit.

Someone replaced the real diamond before Tetley was killed. Someone with access to his home, his safe, and the private tensions inside his family.

Ark Van Gent is uniquely qualified to find that person. A former convict working as an unlicensed investigator, Ark maintains an unofficial arrangement with the police by solving cases their own detectives cannot. Beside him are Victoria Summerrain, a disciplined licensed investigator who understands exactly how much Ark risks, and Eddie, a brilliant researcher whose chaotic instincts have an alarming habit of producing results.

Their search draws them into a web involving Tetley's guarded widow, his embittered cousin, the former fiancée who once wore the diamond publicly, and three final phone calls made shortly before his death. As every witness protects a different secret, Ark must determine whether the theft led to the murder—or whether the missing jewel is concealing an even more personal crime.

The Tetley Diamond launches Scene of the Crime: The Ark & Eddie Mysteries, a classic detective series filled with hidden motives, complicated partnerships, old money, dangerous loyalties, and the clues people leave behind when their carefully arranged stories begin to break.