Dirty Money

For better than fifteen years Stan Hunter had enjoyed the quiet life of a small time rancher in the less populated areas of Idaho. Living on his ranch outside of the tiny town of Twin Peaks, he had everything he needed to be comfortable. Then suddenly and without any warning, everything changed. As a result, he was now engaged in a struggle to survive, and rid himself of an old enemy.

He was standing immediately beside his temporary helper on the day when the killer fired the shot that killed the young man. Stan had done the only thing he could at the time, which was run for cover before being shot himself. As he flees for home and security, he arrives to find others waiting inside his ranch home, which suggested that he, rather than the man they had killed, had to be the real target.

Only one thing made sense. The attack had to relate to the events in Hunter's past that had brought him to Idaho to hide in the first place. But the killers had not been what he would expect if that were truly the case. They were too unprofessional. The man Stan Hunter believed must be behind the attack had ready access to men who were skilled at removing nuisances such as himself. Only the fact the man had thought him dead had allowed Hunter to live without fear for so long.

Although Hunter escapes the immediate threat, his problems soon began to multiply. The sheriff of Twin Peaks somehow learns that Stan Hunter isn't who he seems, making the only safe thing to do is leave Twin Peaks for good and disappear elsewhere. He'd made preparations a long time ago against just such a possibility, but worries that having learned after all these years that he is alive, his enemy will only find him again where he settles down. That suggested he take preemptive action of his own.

A long-range one-shot kill seems to be the only opportunity to eliminate the man that would stop at nothing to see Stan Hunter hunted down and killed. A miss would alert the target that he was being sought in return and greatly up the stakes of the altercation. Could the shot be made? Hunter believes he has a reasonable chance of success.

The police, an old love, and a lot of money complicate the mixture. Before it is all done, Hunter wonders if he should have simply run when he had the chance.