Dead on the Fourth of July

David Dean's election bid for Sheriff of Ouray County, Colorado becomes complicated after ten-year-old Martha Boyd discovers a skeleton in an abandoned mine. He and his wife promise the girl they'll identify the remains, with the help of Dean's stepfather, Fred O'Connor, his computer, and his cadre of lady friends. It's high season at Bird Song, the Deans' bed and breakfast, when they discover among their guests a squabbling quartet in court over the ownership of the same mine-and Fred O'Connor is sitting on the jury When the bones disappear, Dean runs into trouble with the new acting sheriff and the election gets nasty. Someone wants very badly for the skeleton to remain anonymous And then, amid Ouray's festive Fourth of July activities, tragedy strikes. The towering mountains that surround the tiny town aren't as peaceful as they appear....