Mokelumne Gold

"It's empty," she said, staring into the open grave.
"It certainly is. We've been waiting for you, because it's your funeral."
"No!" she screamed, as he pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.

Leonida Garcia has been beaten, robbed, widowed and seen enough trouble in her young life to last ten lifetimes. Now she wants nothing more than to live peaceably on her rancho. But when someone murders Ambrose Brice, she encourages retired ranger and friend Josiah Russell to find the killer. The trail he finds leads him to her best friend's door. While she worries about her friend Alice, and seeks to find a way of clearing her name, something even darker and more evil lurks in the shadow. If left alone, it will not only steal her land but take her very life.

"Good story! All told, (Major Mitchell) has spun a good yarn. This is a story that needs to be told to show the skullduggery concerning the old land grants in California, and (Major) did it well." - John Duncklee

"A story of love and murder. A complex plot involving the proud Leonida Garcia and a scoundrel attorney who will stop at nothing to steal the vien of gold running through her property." - Katrina Prado

"A very good and entertaining tale of the old west from hbeginning to the end." - Dallas Review