Book about the mysterious death of CSC math professor

[frogmarch]

4. Excerpts from the book

A very graphic description of the body is given. Here are some excerpts from what follows:

Sheriff Conaghan couldn’t tell at first if the black, ransacked mass straining against the slackness of its ligatures was badly decomposed or badly burned. As he drew closer it became clear that the body was severely burned. In his words, “99.9% burned.”

...

“You couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman” Conaghan recalled. “Though we were pretty sure who it was. I was leaning down there getting a closer look when a mouse blew out of the chest. I said: 'Oh, shit.'"

...

“You read about things like this, of course,” Sheriff Conaghan said. “You’re trained for it. But I had no experience. The upper body burned to bone and the tree that he was tied to not burned? The area all around him barely burned? How does that happen? It was Twilight Zone shit. And I didn’t have the staff or time to deal with it. I got prisoners, paperwork. I was up to my ass in alligators. So I turned the case over on the spot to State Patrol.”

I found the book fascinating and could hardly put it down (I read it in two sittings), but not everyone in Chadron appreciated it – especially if they were in it.