Rain clouds made Seattle gray and dismal. Murder made it deadly. The first to die was just a dog. But this particular mutt belonged to tough ex-cop turned private eye, Thomas Black. And it was a death Black took to heart--because the killer had the same fate in mind for him. He was on the case of a missing blonde named Melissa, who had big blue eyes and a past that was pure scarlet. Now, finding her was leading Black down the seamy side of Seattle's streets on a one-way trip to trouble, the kind that all began with M: Melissa's lovers, Melissa's secrets and Melissa's connection with some very old bones and a brand-new corpse.