Daniel Ramberg

The Gemstone Necklace Daniel Ramberg

This is a fictional mystery story. It is about a man named David Clark who lives in the city of Bend, Oregon in the central part of the state. Unlike the western part of Oregon which has milder temperatures and more rain, Bend's location is often referred to as high desert because of its more arid climate. As the story begins David is imprisoned in the state's penitentiary for the murder of a young girl named Amie Norris. David was a high school teacher where Amie was a student and he was convicted of killing her when she allegedly threatened to expose him for their illicit relationship. David writes a letter to The Innocent Man Project in the hopes that they will consider taking on his case. The situation is somewhat hopeless since the organization has lost its funding. Nevertheless, a lawyer, Jefferson Brown, a black man who has been laid off by the organization agrees to take his case. Jefferson Brown moves to Bend and, because of his limited finances, moves into David's home with David's wife and two teenage boys. Jefferson begins his investigation. During his investigation he uncovers an important clue, a beautiful necklace that Amie Norris was wearing the night she was killed. The necklace is missing and Jefferson believes that the location of the necklace may lead him to the person who actually committed the crime. As the story progresses Jefferson finds himself entangled in the personal lives of David Clark's family, complicating the search for the killer, and then, when he is about to solve the crime an old enemy appears on the scene with the intention of killing him. The solution to the crime involves a turn of events which should come as a surprise to the readers.