A bloodied young man stumbles out to a road adjacent to the woods along the Appalachian Trail in the Massachusetts Berkshires. He flags down a motorist for help, and reports he and his girlfriend had been attacked during the night and she was kidnapped. A massive search is immediately organized by the State Police and County Sheriffs.A prominent US Senator contacts the Attorney General and reports the girl's father is a close friend, and that he's received a one-million-dollar ransom demand. As the search gets underway, it's learned the father has a mysterious connection to the Intelligence community. For an unknown reason, the FBI doesn't take the lead in the kidnapping investigation.Follow Major Crimes Consulting US Attorney Daryl Richardson as he's drawn into the case and discovers not only is the girl's father's business activity with the Government shrouded in secrecy, those close to him have a habit of suffering untimely deaths. JW Lucas, author of the Daryl Richardson and Dan Dragona Crime Mysteries series, is a retired law enforcement Detective Sergeant and Healthcare Security executive, his careers spanning forty-five years.As a detective, he received advanced training in crime scene processing, evidence, and forensics, including being among a select group of investigators who received intensive personal training from internationally renowned forensics expert, Dr. Henry Lee, at the University of New Haven, Connecticut.In February 1981, he led the criminal investigation of a murder that prompted shocking, sensational headlines worldwide that created a media frenzy.Coming to be known as the 'Devil Made Me Do It Case,' the accused, through his attorney, made the unprecedented claim of demonic possession as a defense.The murder became the basis for the 1983 ABC television movie, 'The Demon Murder Case,' the screenplay written by Academy Award winner William Kelly, (Witness, starring Harrison Ford) and more recently, the 2022 Warner Brothers distributed movie 'Conjuring 3,' and a 2022 two-hour Discovery TV Network documentary 'The Devil Made Me Do It.'He has led many major crime investigations, including homicide, kidnapping, serial bank robberies, undercover narcotics, and white-collar crimes.His crime mystery series focuses on the human side of the investigators; the doubts and frustrations they encounter with unexpected twists and turns in their cases, the emotional toll horrific crime takes on its victims and their families, and the use of forensics and technology to solve the crimes.JW Lucas lives in Connecticut. He enjoys hearing from readers at:jwlucasbooks1@gmail.com Stories of investigations of Daryl Richardson, major crimes legal consultant for the Dept of Justice.
