J. E. Terrall

BALBOA RENDEZVOUS is a love story that takes place at San Diego, California in time of uncertainty, the year being 1963. It was a time when the Vietnam was getting underway for the United States. Young men were being sent off to war while others were already returning to be cared for in an effort to make them whole again, both physically and mentally. During the early sixties I was a Hospital Corpsman at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, one of the largest military hospitals in the country. I worked in several departments in the hospital including, the Burn Ward, Intensive Care Unit/Medical, and in the Emergency/Receiving Ward on occasion. Although the characters in this story are fictional, the background is real. Like many fictional stories there are a few bits and pieces of reality woven through it like the treads in a piece of fine cloth. Each piece of thread holds the cloth together just as each piece of reality gives life to the story.

Ren Richardson's life had become routine and dull. She wishes there could be some excitement in her life. She thinks that meeting a tall dark and handsome man would be a good start. Her wish began to come true when she received a letter from a law firm in Albany telling her that she was to inherit some property. She discovered that the property was the estate of her late Great Uncle Captain Delhambra whom she had not seen since she was a child. After making arrangements to see the property, things began to happen. Several "accidents" occurred while traveling in the mountains near the estate. Mr. Hanover, an assistant at the law firm, made every effort to keep her from spending any time at the estate she was to inherit.Once she had control of the estate, things began to happen that were apparently aimed at getting her to relinquish the estate, or to kill her. During her time of frustration and fear, she met a tall, dark and handsome man purely by accident, who seemed willing to help her.

Nick McCord receives a call from his ex-wife, Sharon. She is in a state of panic when her husband, Jeff, fails to show up at the hotel where he was to attend a computer games conference in Hartford, Connecticut. She asks Nick to find him.Jeff was a computer whiz and designer of computer games for Games Unlimited, a company that also does work for the government. Jeff was to deliver a computer disk to General Dynamics, the builder of submarines for the Navy.Nick and Monica quickly discovered that Jeff did not tell his wife that he was going early to the conference in order to go to Knollwoods Resort and Casino to test his computer Blackjack game. It turns out that there was much more to it than simply testing a game. Nick and Monica discover that there are others who want the game, and that they are willing to do anything to get it, including murder. Trickery and deception make it difficult for them to find Jeff.Blackjack, a Game to Die For is another mystery story in the Nick McCord series.

A Dead Man's Treasure is another Nick McCord mystery. Nick McCord left his job as a Milwaukee Police Detective to go to Monica Barnhart when she told him of the murder of her boss and friend, Sam Kishler, while he was in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. Sam was the head of the History Department at the University where Monica worked. Nick met several of the staff of the department and discovered that a couple of them had a reason to want Sam out of the way. Nick also found that a close friend of Sam's died on a previous trip to the same region which ended the trip. The man's brother hired Nick and Monica to find out if his brother's death was an accident or murder. Since Nick believed the deaths were connected, he takes the job of finding the answer. With a strange "Treasure Map", Nick and Monica headed for the Superstition Mountains in search of Sam's killer and for the mythical Seven Cities of Cibola and the treasure that was supposed to be hidden there.

Tracy Atwater returned to her father's ranch to manage it after he had a stroke. The low cattle prices and the long drought made saving the ranch from foreclosure an up hill fight. Unable to pay her ranch hands they left for other jobs, except one. Will, an ex-con, stays on to help.Tom Norbert, the son of the banker who holds the mortgage and Tracy's high school boyfriend, paid a visit to Tracy, but it didn't go well. She sent him away thinking that he was there only to see what can be salvaged of the ranch if she couldn't make the mortgage payment. He tried to show Tracy that he has matured and wants to help her save the ranch. He was still in love with her.Tracy's lone ranch hand discovered the north fence had been cut and a truck had come onto the ranch. While riding the fence line and keeping an eye out for trespassers, Will was shot. Tracy was left with no choice but to accept Tom's help. Trouble on the ranch began when the two of them got back together. She discovers that she still has strong feelings for Tom.Along with the help of the Sheriff, they figured out who is responsible for the cut fence. They also discovered what was so important that one person would do almost anything to get his hands on the Lazy A Ranch.

Private Investigator, Frank Tidsdale, receives a call from a very nervous and distraught man by the name of James Carlson. Carlson claims that he is about to be arrested for killing his wife, but claimed he didn't do it. While on the phone, Frank can hear policemen breaking into his home and arresting him. Frank was not sure that he wants to get involved, but changes his mind when Carlson's attorney asks for his help, for a fee.Frank begins digging into the case only to find that things aren't what they appear. He soon has some doubts about Carlson's guilt. Mrs. Carlson's death seems to have some connection to her employment in an architectural firm. Frank starts looking into others who might have a motive for killing her. Frank seeks the help of an unsavory individual in an effort to get to the truth. During his investigation, he gets stonewalled, threatened, and one of his witnesses e

Private Investigator, Frank Tidsdale, was visited by Attorney General Patrick Greene who wanted Frank to investigate corruption in the Criminal Court System. AG Greene suspected there was at least one judge who was taking money to control the outcome of trials of mob members. Since AG Greene also suspected a mole in his office, he was looking to Frank to be an independent investigator, and gave him the name of one of the judges he suspected was dirty.Frank began by finding out as much as he could about the judge. He was just getting into the investigation when the judge was assassinated. The death of the judge did not stop his investigation, but changed the direction of his investigation into whom had the judge murdered, and why. He eventually discovered how deep within the Criminal System the corruption went, and who was involved, but not without personal harm to himself.Death by Assassination is the second Frank Tidsdale Mystery.

Tales from the Territory are stories about what it took to tame the land that is now known as South Dakota. The Dakota Territory was formed on March 2, 1861 about six weeks before the Civil War began. It remained a territory until November 2, 1889 when it was split into North Dakota and South Dakota.The stories show the strength of its settlers and of those who chose to make a home there. There are stories of the men and women who did what was necessary to make it a safe place to raise a family. There are stories of those who came to the territory to seek their fortune, and of those who simply wanted more than they had in the east. It tells of lawmen who struggled to bring law and order to the land. There is a story of a mail-order bride who found happiness in spite of all her fears to move west to marry a man she had never met. The stories in Tales from the Territory are fictional, but show what it took to make a new life for themselves in a wild and open land. This book is one of several short stories books by J.E. Terrall about the taming of the West.

Nick McCord receives a disturbing call from his old friend, Tom Walker. Nick takes time off from his job as a Milwaukee policeman and goes to Gill's Point Lodge on the shore of Lake Michigan. Tom told him about a body found on the beach incased in ice, and that the body is that of Elizabeth Samuelson who disappeared a hundred years ago. He is also told of strange sounds and ghostly figures in the lodge. Finding the tale hard to believe, Nick agreed to look into it. Monica Barnhart, a history professor, who was there to research the history of the lodge provides Nick with its background. She joins him in the search to find out what was happening. Although it was believed that the lodge had been built by Captain Bartholomew Samuelson as a summer home for his wife Elizabeth, they discover the real reason the home was built. Nick and Monica found it interesting that several of the guests at the lodge were related to the captain. Murder at Gill's Point is a mystery story that is told by Nick McCord. It is the first in a series of Nick McCord mysteries.

The late eighteen hundreds was a time of growth and expansion in this great country. The land was open and wild. Often the land was waiting for the strong to take it and make something of it. It took courage just to keep it once it was settled. Laws were often few and far between. The law was often what man made of it. It was also a time when the land grew. Towns sprouted up all over the country and the stagecoaches tied them together with ribbons of narrow, often dangerous, roads. Often men hunted men for the bounty on their heads, while some hunted others so that justice could be met. The Old West is a collection of short stories that show what it took to build in the west. The stories show how men fought to survive, fought to bring law and order to a lawless land, and the perils that faced those who simply traveled across the land. The stories are fiction, yet they could have happened to any of the many souls that will never be known who reached out to the west for a better life.

Peter Blackstone is visited by the sexy young wife of a prominent Denver figure, Arnold Williams. Samantha wants to know why her husband goes out on Wednesday nights without her. Peter takes the job, but before he can follow Arnold, he is murdered. Samantha becomes the prime suspect and Peter shifts his focus to finding Arnold's killer. Arnold is the principal investor in a high rise building in Denver. A report that the building is unsafe causes an investigation. Peter discovers that local mobsters have been investing a lot of money in the building. They were likely to lose a great deal of maney if it got out who was investing in the building. The mobsters were also siphoning funds from the project. Peter suddenly finds himself protection Samantha as it becomes apparent that she is in danger of being murdered. He has to try to protect her from the mob and from planted evidence that could convict her of murdering her husband. Murder in the Foothills is a Peter Blackstone mystery.

Peter Blackstone, a Denver private Investigator, was returning from a date with his long time girlfriend when he turned a corner and almost ran into a large lawn bag. When he tired to remove the lawn bag from the street, it broke open. He discovered that the bag was filled with more than leaves. There was a body of a young woman in the bag. That was the beginning of his search for the murderer of Emily Sutherland, a student at the Denver School for Artists and a cocktail waitress at a local night club. His search for her killer led him into the world of prostitution, gambling and drugs. Peter loses more then any man should, but it only makes him more determined to find Emily's killers and bring them to justice. It may not have been the justice he wanted, but it was the kind that is gotten in a court of law.

The land west of the Mississippi was a wild and untamed land. It took lawmen, outlaws, farmers, storekeepers, soldiers, teachers, bar girls and strong willed women to tame this vast country. All kinds of people crossed the great Mississippi River to make their mark on the land and make it what it is today.The people who settled and brought law and order to the vast Untamed Land were the same people who made the legends of the old west. It's those legends that still inspire us to dream of those days gone by.Untamed Land is a collection of short stories about the strengths and weaknesses of those people who moved into the west to live and raise their families. There are stories of the willingness of some to overcome the hardships that were thrust upon them. There are also stories of those who brought law and order to the west. Although the stories in this book are fiction, they show the determination of the men and women to take a wild and open land and make it a place to live and grow.

There are many stories of the frontier, a time when this great country was having its own growing pains. In this book you will find a story of a man who is simply trying to survive from one day to the next against all odds. There are stories of outlaws and their attempts to take what they want and end up paying the price. There is a story of a man who stands by another person at the risk of his own life just to make that person's last days a little better. The Frontier is a collection of short stories about the struggles of some and the evil and others. There are stories of good triumphing over bad, and how even in a time when the law was often not to be found, some men still did what was right . Although the stories in this book are fiction, they show the spirit of those people that settled the west and helped make the legends of the Frontier