"Q" Is for Quarry

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"Q" Is for Quarry
Q Is for Quarry.jpg
First edition cover
AuthorSue Grafton
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesAlphabet Mysteries
GenreMystery fiction
PublisherG. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date
October 14, 2002
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages385 first edition
ISBN978-0-399-14915-3
OCLC49618561
813/.54 21
LC ClassPS3557.R13 Q15 2002
Preceded by"P" Is for Peril 
Followed by"R" Is for Ricochet 

"Q" Is for Quarry is the 17th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels[1][2][3] and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.[4]

Plot summary[]

While moving into her new office, Kinsey Millhone receives a visit from Lt. Con Dolan of the Santa Teresa Sheriff’s Department. Dolan comes bearing bad news: retired STSD Detective Stacey Oliphant is dying of cancer. Oliphant is haunted by a cold case from 1969, a murder investigation wherein he and Dolan, on a hunting trip, discovered the body of a teenage Jane Doe in a quarry outside Lompoc. Dolan suggests the three of them work together to identify the body and solve the case in order to give Oliphant some peace of mind in his final days.

After Kinsey pursues a couple of false leads, Dolan and Oliphant suggest focusing their investigation on a career criminal named Frankie Miracle, who was arrested in Lompoc within days of the Doe murder for killing his girlfriend. They have always believed Miracle killed Doe, but were never able to prove it. Kinsey interrogates Cedric “Pudgie” Clifton, one of Miracle’s former cellmates, in hopes of gaining some information. Clifton confirms that Miracle claimed to have killed a second woman in circumstances which match the Doe murder. Dolan and Kinsey visit the recently paroled Miracle, who denies any knowledge of the Doe crime and flatly refuses to cooperate.

Dolan, Oliphant, and Kinsey meet with STSD Sgt. Detective Joe Mandel to view the remains and personal effects of Jane Doe. Mandel suggests they talk to Frankie Miracle’s ex-wife Iona Mathis. Mandel also discovers that a red Ford Mustang mentioned in the original report as possibly belonging to the killer was stolen from an auto upholsterer in Quorum, a small town near the Arizona border and suspiciously close to Miracle’s own hometown. The car was recovered and sold to the owner of the shop, Ruel MacPhee, who has kept it ever since.

Iona Mathis and her mother Annette discuss Iona’s relationship with Miracle and also mention that Iona grew up with and briefly dated Pudgie Clifton. Dolan and Kinsey then proceed to Quorum, where they find the auto shop being run by Cornell MacPhee, son of original owner Ruel MacPhee. Dolan finds the Mustang and has the car impounded as evidence while Kinsey questions several of Quorum’s longtime residents in hopes of discovering Jane Doe’s identity. When she reports back to Dolan, Dolan suffers a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital. Stacey Oliphant arrives in town to take over Dolan’s portion of the investigation.

Cornell MacPhee’s mother-in-law, Medora Sanders, identifies Jane Doe as Charisse Quinn, a foster child who briefly boarded with her. Sanders relates that Quinn was a troubled teen, expelled from school and sexually promiscuous. According to Sanders, Quinn ran away one night and was never seen again. With Jane Doe identified, Oliphant and Kinsey delve into the complex web of relationships surrounding the dead girl. Local car salesman George Baum informs Oliphant that Quinn was infatuated with Cornell MacPhee and befriended his sister Adrienne in hopes of getting close to Cornell himself. Cornell’s wife Justine vehemently denies this.

Forensic reports on the Mustang reveal Pudgie Clifton’s fingerprints. Upon learning this, Oliphant and Kinsey begin an extensive but unsuccessful search for Clifton, both in Quorum and his hometown of Creosote. While attempting to locate Clifton, they learn he had dated Justine before she met Cornell.

Dolan is released from the hospital and returns to Santa Teresa with Oliphant. Soon after they leave, Kinsey receives a call from Pudgie Clifton’s wife Felicia. The police have requested her help to identify a body they believe to be Clifton’s. At the police department, Felicia identifies the body as that of her husband. His body was found in an unfinished, abandoned apartment complex called the Tuley-Belle. Upon hearing the news, Oliphant and Dolan return to Quorum.

Kinsey visits George Baum in hopes of gaining more information about Charisse Quinn’s many relationships. Baum reveals that Cornell MacPhee had begun a sexual relationship with Quinn and that Adrienne had interrupted the two of them once at the Tuley-Belle. At Pudgie Clifton’s wake, Adrienne confirms Baum’s story, adding that Quinn told Cornell she was pregnant and wanted to elope with him.

Kinsey drives to the Tuley-Belle to assist local deputies in finding the weapon used to kill Clifton. Once there, she sees Cornell and Justine digging up a tire iron.

In an epilogue, Kinsey explains that Justine killed Charisse Quinn for seducing Cornell, who Justine saw as a source of future financial security. Justine convinced Pudgie Clifton to steal the Mustang and dispose of Quinn's body. When Clifton told her the case had been reopened, she killed him to keep him quiet and forced her husband to dispose of the body as she had with Clifton 20 years before.

Characters[]

  • Kinsey Millhone: Private investigator who is hired to reopen a cold case in an attempt to find new leads.

Development of the novel[]

Though the book is a work of fiction, it is based on an unsolved homicide that occurred in Santa Barbara County, California in August 1969. A Jane Doe victim had been dumped near a quarry in Lompoc, California, and never identified. At a dinner party, Sue Grafton had a conversation with Dr. Robert Failing, who mentioned the case. He is the forensic pathologist who worked for the Coroner's Office which had retained her maxilla and mandible. The victim was never identified, and never associated with any known missing person's case. It was hoped that the additional publicity generated by the book (along with the facial reconstruction done by internationally recognized forensic sculptor Betty Gatliff, funded by Grafton), would help turn up additional leads, but so far, unsuccessfully.[5] As of 2011, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office is still hoping to find additional leads, and has the images of the facial reconstruction on their page.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Shafner, Rhonda (October 31, 2002). "Sue Grafton turns to crime; Real murder inspires author's 17th alphabet-series mystery". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  2. ^ Enger, Jeremy (October 21, 2002). "Best Bets". Austin American-Statesman. 'Q is for Quarry,' 'R' is for reading, 'S' is for signing. The only writers who might get more mileage out of the alphabet than Sue Grafton are the ones working for Sesame Street.
  3. ^ "For mystery writer, S is for success". St. Petersburg Times. November 11, 2002.
  4. ^ Gulbransen, Susan (September 1, 2002). "Racing Time: Alphabet author Sue Grafton counts down to Zero". Book. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  5. ^ Brantingham, Barney (July 21, 2011). "Who Was Jane Doe? True Life Subject of Sue Grafton's Q Is for Quarry Still a Mystery". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  6. ^ "Information Needed, "Jane Doe" Homicide". Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. Archived from the original on November 26, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.

External links[]

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