One-Way Ticket — Bert Hitchens

Murder is personal for a Los Angeles railroad detective in this thriller from an author known for her “tough and compassionate” crime novels (MysteryTribune).
 
Vic Moine has followed in his late father's footsteps to become a detective for a big Los Angeles railroad line, much to the chagrin of his rich girlfriend's family. But his father's old friend Rock is happy to hear it. Vic has confided in Rock about his latest case: someone is forging freight claims with counterfeit company checks.
 
Meanwhile, an old woman who lives near the freight yards has seen prowlers scaling the fence at night. When Rock is found dead from what seems to be a drunken accident at the very same freight yards, Vic is suspicious, but he's no homicide detective . . .
 
Then, the name on the forged checks leads Vic to people with a connection to Rock's past cases: two men and two women -- one of them capable of the most vicious kind of evil.
 
Praise for Dolores Hitchens
 
“High-grade suspense.” -- San Francisco Chronicle on Stairway to an Empty Room/Terror Lurks in Darkness
 
“Almost unbearable suspense . . . Holds the reader to the last punctuation mark.” -- Greensboro News & Record on The Grudge