Pig in a Poke

It's been months since the mysterious vagrant known only as "El Jefe" came to the small town of Rumors. He's taken up a quiet life, spending his days drinking at Rosemary's Roadhouse and working odd jobs around town for money.

Now, though, El Jefe and his two best friends - Big Jim, the former truck driver with a troubled past and Aposh, the escaped French convict with his own skeletons in the closet - are about to come face to face with the biggest threat Rumors has faced in, well, forever.

Just outside of town, the Qualls family has lost communication with the outside world. They haven't been to church, their children haven't been in school, and nobody has driven out to check on them. It's up to El Jefe, Big Jim and Aposh to solve the mystery of what happened to them. At first they suspect the family's been kidnapped (or worse) by local criminal mastermind, Crowbar Joe, and his gang of hooligans.

Upon arriving at the Qualls farm, though, they discover the Qualls have crossed paths with something much more dangerous and much more cunning than Crowbar Joe. What could the family have possibly done to anger a North American forest legend?

Find out as El Jefe, Big Jim and Aposh save the Qualls family's bacon in 'Pig in a Poke,' the 5087 word first story in the "El Jefe" series from writer Sotirios Fox.