It should have been a simple assignment for PI Sam Blackman and his partner Nakayla Robertson: follow a history professor who's suing a spinal surgeon for malpractice and catch her in physical activities that undercut her claim. When the professor visits Carl Sandburg's home in Flat Rock, N.C., and climbs the arduous trail to the top of Glassy Mountain, Sam believes he has the evidence needed to expose her-until he finds her semiconscious and bleeding beside the trail. Her final words: "It's the Sandburg verses. The Sandburg verses." An autopsy reveals painkillers in her blood and solid proof of the surgeon's errors. So why did this suffering woman attempt to climb the mountain? What did Pulitzer Prize winner Sandburg have in his literary collection that inspires multiple murders? And who will be targeted next? Mark de Castrique lives in North Carolina with his wife Linda. www.markdecastrique.com