South Texas Tangle

When the driver of the aging conversion van he just pulled over rabbits off into the brush, Texas State Trooper Dan Henning knows there must be something of value hidden in the vehicle.

A quick search turns up a mountain of cash poorly hidden behind the wall paneling. But someone's found money is someone else's lost money, and before long, an odd pair of alleged awning salesmen pays Henning's wife a visit. Now the trooper finds himself back in a Gulf War state of mind and liking it.

Meanwhile, the van's driver, former high school basketball start Jimmy Ireno, has stolen a pickup truck and made his way to Corpus Christi, where he enlists the aid of some locals in implementing a bizarre and desperate plan to recover the cash and save his own hide, all the while dodging three organized crime dudes, the cops and his own proclivities.

South Texas Tangle follows the tradition of Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake.