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This fascinating and gripping portrayal is the only book-length account ever written about criminal mastermind Clarence Ray Allen, the last man to be executed in the state of California
Even hardened detectives were shaken by the scene at Fran's Market in rural Fresno County that night in 1980: four young people lay on the market's concrete floor, bloodily murdered by a killer without mercy or remorse. Then a grim investigation became even grimmer when the evidence led to the prime suspect--a convicted murderer already behind the stone walls of Folsom. A true crime story that reads like an intricately woven mystery, the book depicts the chilling scenes of murder, a dogged investigation, and the true story behind the Fran's Market murders and their psychopathic mastermind. Written by former prosecutor James Ardaiz, who was one of the first investigators on the scene at Fran's Market, Hands Through Stone provides an insider's view of the tortuous, multiyear investigation that brought a killer to justice.
James A. Ardaiz is the former presiding justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeals in California. Before that he served as a deputy district attorney in Fresno County, California. He was a key figure in both the investigation and prosecution of the notorious Clarence Ray Allen, the last man to be executed in the state of California. He lives in Fresno, California.
Prologue
PART I: MEMORIES PAST
Chapter 1: Murder at Fran’s Market
Chapter 2: “We have a triple …”
Chapter 3: A Cop’s Worst Nightmare
PART II: A MOTHER’S VENGEANCE
Chapter 4: A Gun Definitely Gets Your Attention
Chapter 5: Never Piss Off a Mother
Chapter 6: Even Criminals Have Standards
Chapter 7: You Don’t Break a Horse in One Ride
Chapter 8: Follow the Money
Chapter 9: “The toughest part of a cop’s job …”
Chapter 10: What Happened to Mary Sue?
Chapter 11: A Robbery at Kmart
Chapter 12: Kmart Robbery Aftermath
Chapter 13: Fear Has Its Own Smell
Chapter 14: Like the Scales of a Snake
Chapter 15: The Weakest Link
Chapter 16: “We rob and steal and those who squeal …”
Chapter 17: “If I was guaranteed protection …”
Chapter 18: “He is capable of anything”
Chapter 19: A Gravestone for Mary Sue
Chapter 20: A Lethal Vote
Chapter 21: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
Chapter 22: “Ready for the People”
Chapter 23: “We the jury …”
PART III: A WHISPERING VOICE
Chapter 24: “A gnawing coldness …”
Chapter 25: “Body otherwise unremarkable …”
Chapter 26: “The second son …”
Chapter 27: Murder Doesn’t Always Make Sense
Chapter 28: No Promises
Chapter 29: Puppet Master
Chapter 30: We Had to Get the Shooter
Chapter 31: The Folsom Connection
Chapter 32: Blood Turns to Ice
Chapter 33: “One of my dogs will do it …”
Chapter 34: The End of the Slow Dance
PART IV: RETRIBUTION
Chapter 35: The Tentacles of the Past
Chapter 36: The Time of Retribution
Epilogue
Principal Characters
Timeline
Index