Coastside Detectives
Armando’s Gold
by
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“Out there,” Joe motioned with his cigar. “Out there by the rocks on the South side of Pacifica beach. It’s low tide so I thought with the storms and runoff, I’d check out that area before people started scouring the area for whatever washed up on shore. You know, with the storms we’ve been having, I expected that something good would get washed up, but I never thought I’d find something like this.” Joe put his cigar back in his mouth and intently watched me as I handled the coin. I could tell it was old, really old, but I still couldn’t make out the markings on it; it was too crusty and only a fine layer of sediment would come off it with a flat rubbing of my thumb. The coin was thin and it was no longer a perfect circular coin, if it ever was one. Age, saltwater, and probably the rocks had taken their two cents out of it. I scraped at the crust with my thumbnail and finally reached the dull glitter of the coin’s surface. Gold--it was a gold coin. My eyes bulged and I blurted, “I think you found gold, Joe!” Joe’s smile grew toothy and he slowly nodded. “And a piece of a legend.”
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About the Book
After Detective Mike Mason’s partner finds a mysterious gold coin on a Pacifica beach, a local reporter does a little sleuthing of his own and ignites a modern-day gold rush. Encouraged by his partner, Mike steps into the middle of the frenzy and quickly finds he’s once more dealing with the wiles of a lovely but treacherous woman. Without hesitation, he joins her in her quest as they scour the town looking for a map that, if the rumors are true, was left by the legendary Ohlone Indian Armando. As the quest turns deadly with the bodies of those who have helped in the search start turning up, Mike realizes only time will tell if he will find the map and gold—and if he’ll escape with his life.
About the Author
Matthew O’Malley is a native San Franciscan. The coast and San Francisco itself provide the backdrop for the Coastside Detectives series. Matthew has also written two book collections of short stories—the Tales for Sale series. He has also written Sunsets of Inverness under the pen name Joe Ballard.