Donald L. Ball

Toll Road Donald L. Ball

A kidnapping in a small town in California's Central Valley begins a series of events which forces Detective Jason Carmichael to brush aside standard investigative protocol. Following conventional procedures would involve a candid dialog with the media. But because of a diabolically unique and unpredictable ransom demand, in which the police have no way of apprehending the kidnappers, Jason believes the result would be multiple "copy cat" events. The flip side is, by not keeping the public appraised of the potential danger; children would still be at risk. With either decision, Jason realizes he will be judged wrong. Throughout this juggling act, nothing can override his biggest concern-what will happen when the kidnapper's leverage runs out?As Marie Gallagher and Jason stand side by side listening to tapes of tormenting phone calls from the abductors, she begins a back door entry into his empty private life. TOLL ROAD traces the multiple paths of an investigation, even resorting to an unwitting conspiracy between the least likely of sources. Of all the cases Jason had worked on, he could never have imagined a clue as important as, "Uh-huh."