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A Dangerous Garden

by Brent Maxwell

238 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0229; ISBN 1-55212-829-6; US$22.00, C$24.95, EUR18.00, £12.50

The dangerous life of a professional marijuana grower in the rural mountains of British Columbia becomes even more complicated when a former friend with a mysterious agenda arrives.

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about the book      about the author      excerpt      catalogue info

About the Book Daniel Mathews was strong, industrious and honest. He was a nice guy. He was also a drug dealer. He cultivated marijuana for a living. During the course of one fateful year in the mid 1980s, Daniel would have the metal of his character tested to its limits. His illegal lifestyle was rife with treacherous pitfalls. Was it possible for him to retain his integrity and continue his dangerous business? The tranquil and beautiful valleys of British Columbia are the setting for this story of intrigue and betrayal where Daniel Matthews resides. He farms and ranches there, his main crop consisting of the illegal plant marijuana. He has several partners, other local residents. This novel takes place over the course of one year in four parts, from summer to spring wherein Daniel questions his dangerous lifestyle - the growing and selling of marijuana. His son is sixteen, and at the age when he is exposed to marijuana and other drugs- a fact which greatly concerns Daniel. Daniel and his friends Tommy and Brian cultivate large plots of the crop and spend most of their time tending to them, and worrying about them. Numerous other neighbours in the rural area also grow the illegal herb. An unexpected visitor, Cheyenne, arrives at Daniel's farm. He is an old friend whom they suspect has become a narcotics agent. This complicates an already dangerous situation. Through the harrowing and dangerous summer and autumn months of growing and harvesting Daniel grows increasingly unhappy with his lifestyle. He begins to question what he does, who his friends are, and what he really wants in his life. The climax sees Daniel discovering evidence of betrayal and perhaps even murder. His life-altering decision can no longer be postponed.

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About the Author Brent Maxwell has written for a number of newsletters, newspapers and magazines as well as written a science fiction novel, The Imprint, published electronically. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. Trafford Publishing has recently released his novel A Dangerous Garden.

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Excerpt - From Chapter Six

Brian walked ahead, clad in shorts and sandals, his long thin legs sunburned, his muscular back darker from all the sun exposure it received. The heat was intense for so early in the morning, the thin mountain air blocking little of the sun's rays. Behind, Daniel studied his tall friend, admiring his physical fitness as he strode up the trail carrying two heavy buckets of marijuana leaves. Brian was an athlete, a ski bum at one time, wind surfing and water skiing whenever he could, and now riding his horses regularly. But he did not relish physical exercise as Daniel did and was not enjoying the hot climb and the heavy buckets he was carrying at that moment. Daniel was well aware of the fact, he could hear the swearing and complaining coming from his friend as he followed close behind. He grinned at the grunts and creative obscenities Brian muttered angrily.

They were nearing the apex of the trail, the fence and the forest just beyond, when Daniel noticed a strange mechanical sound that could be heard above the cursing his partner ahead was emitting. He listened carefully, the sound rapidly intensifying, becoming a thumping rhythm, then evolving suddenly into the loud whirring of a helicopter's spinning blades.

"Fuck! A helicopter!" Brian shouted as the sound bore down on them. Daniel looked up but could see nothing, the helicopter still out of sight, but obviously approaching at a terrifying speed.

"Run for the trees," Daniel shouted above the thumping of the helicopter that seemed to have arrived out of nowhere. Both men lunged ahead up the steep trail, although already tired suddenly experiencing the renewed vigour of fear. As they looked ahead at the tree line only metres away, the helicopter appeared above them, like some monstrous insect, drowning out all other sounds with its menacing chopping beat. Both men leapt ahead with the strength of their fear and flew over the fence and into the cover of the trees while the copter hovered over the field they had just vacated.

"Get down, Danny! Do you think they saw us?" Brian whispered as he pushed his friend to the floor of the forest and behind the shelter of a huge fir tree.

Daniel's heart was pounding wildly and he was gasping for breath as he stared out towards the field they could see below them. The helicopter had moved away from them a short distance and seemed to be hovering over their marijuana patch in the gully beyond.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Brian gasped as he crouched beside Daniel. They watched helplessly, breathing hard with pounding hearts as the copter began a lazy circle across Brian's field, then returned to zoom straight towards them. Both men tried to melt into the ground as the thumping reverberation passed over and seemed to stop, then swiftly moved off and faded into the distance.

"Oh my God!" Daniel finally breathed with relief. He looked into Brian's pale blues eyes only inches from his own, seeing the naked fear and relief combined, and suddenly began to laugh. Brian stared back at him as if he was crazy for a moment, then too began to laugh, both of them dissolving into hysterics as they crouched on their knees in the shade of the woods.

They rose to their feet shakily, still laughing with relief and stood to observe the open field for a short time. They decided to move east where they could watch the road that led from the valley and still remain under the cover of the forest.

"It definitely was the blue and white police helicopter," Daniel said.

"It sure the fuck was. And it hovered over my field long enough, it was looking for something. And we know what that something was. It was fucking looking for fucking marijuana!" Brian cursed.

"Sshh!" Daniel warned and listened carefully. In the silence the sound of the helicopter could be heard in the far distance, it seemed to have moved north up the valley. "I think it's going towards my house." he commented.

"If they saw anything here, they would have landed in the field. Or maybe they'll send vehicles up the road. Let's watch for a few more minutes then stash these buckets." Brian suggested. They watched for close to half an hour, the helicopter could be heard in the distance, getting closer then retreating before its sound faded away all together. No traffic passed along Copper Creek Road below.

"What about Barbara and the kids at the house? We'd better go warn them in case the cops drive up." Daniel said eventually.

"Who gives a fuck, let them arrest the bitch." Brian answered. Then when Daniel frowned at him, he laughed and added, "She won't let me keep any pot in the house anyway, so there's nothing to worry about. Besides, I'm sure she would have seen that chopper from the field, she's not stupid."

"Well, she's probably worried anyway. Let's go down to the house and leave these buckets here for now," Daniel said.

They followed the path out in the open back to Brian's house, with mounting nervousness as they approached the road, wondering if a fleet of police cars would be arriving at any time or the helicopter would be returning. Barbara was waiting on the porch for them.

"Were you two hiding in the woods?" she asked sarcastically, her arms folded across her chest and her face set.

"I'm sure they didn't see anything," Brian began.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Barbara screamed. "They hovered over the field for five goddamn minutes! You'd better go and pick those fucking plants right now and hide them somewhere before they come back and we get hauled off to jail!"

"We can't do that, I'm sure they would have landed and investigated if they saw anything. We have to wait it out." Brian said as calmly as he could. He turned to Daniel. "What do you think? Should we pick them?"

Daniel said nothing for a moment. "Well, I know they still have a good month and a half to grow. If we pick them now, we'll lose a lot. I don't think they saw them or they would have landed. That's my opinion anyway." he said, looking at Barbara apologetically.

"Oh for Christ's sake, what do I care anyway. In another six weeks I'll either kill myself or the two of you from all the stress." she muttered and turned to go back in the house. Collin, their four year old son came out the open door at that moment and she scooped him up in her arms and turned back to look at her husband. "If you don't care what happens to your wife and children, there's not a fuck of a lot I can do!" she said coldly and stalked into the house.

Brian watched her leave and turned to Daniel to roll his eyes and then laugh nervously. "Let's go up to the top of the knoll across the road and watch for a while. I'll bring a joint, what the fuck, we may as well get good and stoned."

They sat on a log in the shade of a ponderosa pine, Brian's horses grazing nearby, while smoking their marijuana and observing the road below. Both men's paranoia increased with each inhalation of the pungent herb, their nervousness accentuating its effects. As they watched, Barbara loaded the two children in their van and drove down Copper Creek Road towards town.

"Good, she won't be around if anything happens." Daniel said.

"Maybe she'll never come back," Brian grinned.

"What should we do if ten cop cars come racing up the road right now and stop at your house then head out to the field." Daniel asked.

"I think we'll just have to forget the plants in the field, but we should run up to the cabin above the slough and grab all the sheets of pot there. We can run deeper in the woods and stash the stuff there. At least that way we'll have some left."

"What if they have dogs, and they try to follow us?" Daniel asked morbidly.

"If one of their fucking dogs tries to catch me I'll kill the son-of-a-bitch!"

"What if one of the cops catches us with a couple buckets of pot?" Daniel continued, his paranoia running away with him.

"If he's alone, I'd kill him." Brian grinned, his eyes glittering wickedly. Daniel stared at him, feeling like a crazy stranger was sitting next to him, not his friend of six years.

"I'm sure you wouldn't kill him." he finally scoffed, grinning back.

"You never fucking know, I'm not getting busted if I can help it."

"Maybe we're in the wrong business," Daniel sighed. They continued watching the road for another hour, then Daniel decided to head up the road and see if there was any action at his place.

"What the fuck, I'll go with you. If nothing has happened by now I think we won't see any cops here. I'll go fucking crazy if I have to sit here all afternoon waiting for the narc squad." Brian said.

They drove up Copper Creek Road in Daniel's four by four pick-up, rounding the blind corners carefully, never certain if a police car would be meeting them.

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Catalogue Information

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