The Dark Companion — David Smith

The author of Trinity Grove and River Born moves his unique brand of modern murder meets ancient mystery to Washington, D.C. When Carl Dantz, a Capitol Hill aide, is sent to his Congressman's remote West Virginia district to investigate a series of Night Snatcher disappearances, he reconnects with a world of backwoods superstitions he left years ago for Washington. Going back home makes Carl face old friends, a lost love, and a serial predator whose murders seem to span the centuries. Locals suspect a new resident that few of them have seen, while charred bones are found in a junkyard furnace, and a mysterious writer chronicles episodes from a seemingly endless life as Man's Dark Companion. Murders follow Carl back to the nation's capital, from its dark ghetto alleys to the glittering Georgetown waterfront. Soon thereafter, major political figures become involved in a plot ranging from the highest levels of Congress to the depths of subterranean passageways under Capitol Hill. Carl races to discover and defeat a ruthless opponent who claims to have matched wits with Machiavelli, while a national crisis reaches a climax under the Capitol dome.