Two dead men in Rock Creek Park

This murder mystery and psychological novel tells of the tangled lives and
loves of powerful figures in 1970s post-Watergate Washington.

Catherine Lafitte has made peace with her past and with her husband,
Hamilton "Hap" Lafitte, the philandering, hard-drinking US Senator from
Lake City, Florida. She has a big house in the country and a lover in town,
and has pushed herself to the top level of Washington society.

Arthur Bernardi, Catherine's lover and famous sculptor, lives in an old house
that overlooks Rock Creek Park with his alcoholic musician friend Cal
Canoun. At a raucous party featuring the music of 91-year-old jazz musician
Benny King, we meet Harold Smith-Green, Catherine's former lover, known
in the media as "The Shadow Tycoon", Niki, the beautiful spoiled brat from
horse country, Chloe the scheming left-wing columnist, Abilene Dooley,
Washington's favorite courtesan, and Buck Reston, psychiatrist to the rich
and famous.
Two days later their world is blown apart by the by the early morning
discovery of two dead men in Rock Creek Park.

Agents Richard Kuprovic and Joe Geraghty, the "Mutt & Jeff" of the FBI,
conduct a frustrating murder investigation lightened by Kuprovic's bantering
relationship with girlfriend Cass Alexander, society girl turned fashion
photographer. Two mysterious poisoning deaths occur, a delightful May
afternoon drive to Maryland's Eastern Shore ends tragically and
streetwalker Willa Hodges tells a frightening story.

The solution of the mystery, inadvertently given away but unnoticed in the
middle of the book, is bizarre and completely unexpected.