by J C Ryan
THE REX DALTON SERIES
____________________________
BOOKS 4 - 6
JC RYAN
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Rex Dalton and his dog, Digger, visited the island of Olib in Croatia.
A girl was murdered.
The police said it was her boyfriend who stabbed her to death, but Rex and Digger had no doubt they were making a big mistake.
Dalton decided to conduct his own investigation and bring the real killer to justice.
A thriller with a quirks and twists that will keep you guessing until the end.
Click here - http://dl.bookfunnel.com/9frvkrovn5 to get it now.
Copyright
This book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the author as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
Dedicated to my good friend Mitch Pender, a military dog trainer, for giving me the idea for this series and guiding me through the intricate and amazing capabilities and psychology of those majestic four-legged soldiers.
Mitch has a lifetime of experience and exceptional depth of knowledge as a military dog handler and trainer.
About the books
Sideswiped
When Rex nearly bumps into someone from his former life, it’s time for Rex and Digger to get out of India. Rex goes to Thailand, where he plans to undergo cosmetic surgery to change his looks and hide from people in his past. But then he meets Sunstra. Her name means ‘girl with beautiful eyes’.
Right from the beginning they become fast friends, and before long there is a romance in the making. But then Sunstra disappears. Her family receives a ransom ultimatum: Sunstra is alive, but if her father doesn’t sell his land, she won’t stay that way for long.
It’s a race against the clock for Rex and Digger to save Sunstra’s life, and time is running out.
The Inca Con
Rex Dalton and Digger are exploring the remarkable history of Peru when they befriend a retired American couple. The couple invites them to join their expedition to a remote village high up in the Andes Mountains to inspect an archaeological site in which they want to invest.
But on arrival in the village, it doesn't take long for Rex to discover that his new friends are victims of a cleverly designed con. This con is run by people who will do anything to make sure Rex and Digger don't interfere.
The French Girl
Rex Dalton and Digger are looking forward to a trouble-free holiday on the idyllic islands of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean. Swimming, playing on the beach, fishing, and hikes. Nothing but the laid-back lifestyle for the two of them.
Then Digger introduces Rex to a beautiful French girl, not once, but twice. Soon, Rex and the girl become good friends. Then she disappears, and Rex is accused of having something to do with it.
Thus, begins a series of dramatic and life-threatening events with international repercussions with Rex, Digger and the French girl in the center of it.
CONTENTS
SIDESWIPED
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
THE INCA CON
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
THE FRENCH GIRL
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Epilogue
Rex Dalton’s Next Adventure
Also by JC Ryan
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SIDESWIPED
A Rex Dalton Thriller
Book 4
By JC Ryan
Chapter One
Bangkok, Thailand – Present Time
“SO, RUAN, YOU bought this tuk-tuk just so you could let your dog ride with you? Why not just get a small car?” Sunstra Chevapravatgumrong, Rex Dalton’s Thai language teacher asked.
“A car in this crazy traffic? Nah, that I’ll never do to myself,” Rex answered with a
smile.
It was their first outing, not a date, because of the language school’s policy against fraternization between students and teachers. Rex, always a bit of a rebel, especially when it came to red tape, neatly circumvented the policy by not asking her out on a date, but asking her to give him a guided tour of Bangkok, so he could improve his knowledge of the Thai language and culture—two birds with one stone, or in this case, three, because the outing gave him the chance to also get to know her better, which had been his main objective from the outset.
Using his Ruan Daniel nom de guerre, Rex had been in Thailand for a little over a month. His trip to Thailand had a twofold purpose. The first was to investigate cosmetic surgery options, and the second was part of his new life-goal to explore historical sites across the world and soak up cultures new to him, as well as adding new languages to his already impressive repertoire.
However, getting around Bangkok with his big Dutch shepherd dog, Digger, had been more problematical than he’d expected.
Even getting into the country with him had been a hassle. Digger had been given a clean bill of health by his vet in India, but for reasons of anonymity, Rex had skipped the step of getting a government seal on the paperwork, leery of having his own papers examined too closely or questions about how Digger had been brought into India in the first place. The honest answer to that question, if asked, would have been illegally, not to mention that Rex had also entered India illegally. So, Rex thought it best to just let the seal slide, and thus far he’d gotten away with it.
Except then, upon arrival in Thailand, he’d found himself in a lengthy argument with a Thai official over the lack of a seal on Digger’s papers. The back and forth between Rex and the official went on for so long, had Digger been a four-year-old boy instead of a dog, he would have been dancing around with both hands on his privates, anxious to find a bathroom before he had an embarrassing accident right there on the carpet of the official’s office. Rex had paid a ‘fine’ of one-thousand baht, about thirty US dollars, to have the matter dealt with expediently. That was Rex’s first palm-greasing experience in Thailand, but there were going to be many more.
Further hassles were that no means of public transportation would allow Digger to board, notwithstanding his palm-greasing offers, so he’d been spending a fortune on taxis and tuk-tuks. Naturally, every driver had seen him coming and used the opportunity to charge him double, even after fierce negotiation, because of Digger. Without Digger, they’d have had less leverage. Even though he was clearly farang, a foreigner, Rex’s experience in bargaining gained in the Middle East was strong enough to overcome their initial attempts to scam him. But they’d apparently banded together over the question of taking dogs onboard, and after he’d waved three or four off, he still couldn’t get a lower price.
It wasn’t the money so much as his knowledge that foreigners paying more inconvenienced locals, who couldn’t get needed transportation when more lucrative tourists were around, willing to pay the higher price either through ignorance or because it was still cheaper than at home. The whole concept went against his grain and he didn’t want to contribute to that.
Neither did he want to be scammed. After the third time it happened in the first couple of days, he’d had enough. There was only one answer – buy his own tuk-tuk. That hadn’t proved easy either, as tuk-tuks were classed as work vehicles, and his visa didn’t permit him to work. Another round of negotiations with government officials, a few one-thousand-bhat incentives, and a few inquiries later, he was the proud owner of a used tuk-tuk, licensed for private use only. So now he and Digger had their own hassle-free ride, and there was even enough space for a passenger, maybe two if they were prepared to squash themselves a bit.
He’d taken a month-to-month lease on an apartment in an older building for the same reason. He could have afforded a modern building with all sorts of modern amenities, but most of them weren’t dog-friendly, even though the people in general were. Those who would usually allow dogs were horrified at Digger’s size. They preferred dogs that could be taken through the lobby in carriers, or preferably peeking cutely out of a lady’s oversized handbag. Not sixty-five-pound black Dutch shepherds.
Nevertheless, because Rex intended to spend several weeks in Thailand, he’d finally found one that had a pleasant view and a few amenities, like a gym and swimming pool, which were well-kept, though not very modern.
If Digger had anything to say about the accommodations, he kept it to himself. At the moment, he was smiling widely, his tongue lolling out of one side of his broad open mouth, looking around as if he thought he was being chauffeured around the city on his own sightseeing tour. He occupied most of the back seat of the tuk-tuk, with Sunstra next to Rex in front.
Rex only cared about his growing attraction to the beautiful Thai woman. He was listening closely to her explanation, in Thai as he’d requested, about the long, unpronounceable Thai surnames. Unlike Western cultures, where surnames often referred to long-forgotten relatives, an occupation, or a region from which the family originated, Thai culture had not commonly used surnames before 1913, when the Surname Act came into effect and dictated that surnames must be adopted.
“But why did they adopt such long ones?” he asked. “Wouldn’t that have been the ideal opportunity to choose an easy short surname such as Ng or Ling, or Smith or…”
“Wait, I’m not finished. In the original Surname Act, there was also a provision that Thais of Chinese descent would use their original Chinese names, with the prefix Sae. But later, nationalism meant that some of them felt discrimination. Does that make sense?”
“Sure. Like times in the US when various nationalities were unpopular. Irish in the mid-eighteen-hundreds. Germans and Japanese after World War II, and so on.”
“Mexicans now?” she inquired with a wry smile.
“Well, we call them Latinos or Hispanics, but yeah. Not only those from Mexico, but anyone with a Spanish last name sometimes. But that doesn’t explain your long names.”
“Well, what happened was they began to translate the Chinese name into Thai, but by that time, someone creating a new Thai name because they couldn’t duplicate any had to add decorative words to the meaning. The names got longer and longer until 1965, when the Persons Act came into effect and put a limit of ten Thai letters, excluding vowels and diacritical marks. But that still allows for quite long names. And the ability to change one’s surname with permission from the head of the family exacerbates the situation.”
“Why would anyone do that? Change their surname, I mean,” Rex asked, rather disingenuously, since he personally had several identities.
“Mostly because of separation or divorce, but oftentimes people do it to change bad luck,” she said.
Rex had a near-eidetic memory, but he had to make a special effort to remember the mouthful of eighteen characters in Sunstra’s surname. Remembering his Thai lessons, he carefully pronounced it when he said, “Khun Chevapravatgumrong, would you care to stop and get a bite to eat?”
Sunstra, he’d learned, meant ‘girl with beautiful eyes’. He’d never heard a more apt name, as her almond-shaped eyes were expressive and large, but only large enough to perfectly balance her oval-shaped face. Long, dark-brown hair framed her porcelain skin, and her eyes were a color between brown and gray that fascinated him. He’d seen them change from warm brown to stormy gray depending on what she was wearing or her mood. She lined them with dark pencil and thickened the lashes with mascara. Though he’d never preferred make-up to a woman’s natural look, he was happy to make an exception in Sunstra’s case as he had to admit it added to the mystery of those profound eyes.
A thin, straight nose and full lips, today wearing a bright scarlet lipstick completed her appearance and added up to exquisite beauty.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled as her silvery laugh delighted his ears. “You don’t need to address me so formally, Ruan. We prefer first names, and even if you call me khun, you don’t need to add m
y surname. It’s like your ‘miss’ or ‘mister’,” she continued, pronouncing the English words with an accent that made them sound like mees and meester. “Except that you may address anyone of either sex with just the one word.”
“Then in that case, Khun Sunstra, would you care for something to eat?”
She laughed and shook her head again, which he interpreted to mean no, until she said, “I can see you will need much more tutoring before I can turn you loose in this country. Yes, I would love to have a meal with you.”
Rex grinned. Much more tutoring is exactly what I have in mind.
After a pleasant evening of conversation and exquisite Thai cuisine, Rex delivered Sunstra to her small home near the language school where they’d met. He kissed her goodnight on the cheek, receiving another knee-buckling smile for his efforts. But just then, when he kissed her, Digger moved between them and nudged Rex away. He yawned, letting out a squeak that Rex had never heard before. He glanced at the dog, noticed he didn’t seem happy, and decided to ignore the signal, since there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger or any other reason to be unhappy.
He was tempted to immediately set up the next outing with her, but mindful of the school’s policy, he refrained. It didn’t have to do with the power exchange between a teen and an authority figure, as it would have in the US. As nearly as he could figure, it was about favoritism.
Only two more weeks and I don’t have to worry about the policy anymore. Maybe I can hire her as my personal tutor then.
Walking back to the street after seeing her safely inside, he turned to Digger. “What was that about, buddy?”
Digger uttered a soft woof that Rex couldn’t interpret, but that didn’t keep him from ending the conversation on his terms.
“Well, don’t do it again. Those are important moments in any relationship between a man and a woman. Something I’m sure dogs know nothing about.”
Digger ignored him and looked away without answering.
Chapter Two
Agra, India - Five weeks ago
REX AND DIGGER were strolling on the grounds of the Taj Mahal after Rex paid an exorbitant sum to an official to have a large “Service Dog” sandwich board attached to Digger’s harness. Rex suspected it was unofficial, but so far no one had hassled them. Digger didn’t mind being on leash. He was used to it.
