Chasing Away the Devil

Head deputy of Prophesy County, Okla., Milt Kovak, seen last in Other People's Houses , is well into middle age and still proposing marriage to his divorced childhood sweetheart, Glenda Sue. One rodeo night she refuses him yet again and won't even let him sleep in her trailer. Next day she is found covered with cigarette burns and with her throat cut. in her ransacked trail er. Though warned off the case by the sheriff because of his emotional involvement, Milt determines to investigate. Glenda Sue's daughter Melissa arrives from California with her small daughter, Rebecca, whose father is black. During their stay with Milt, Melissa is knocked out, Rebecca locked in the cellar and Milt's house torn apart. What are the bad guys looking for? Why had Glenda Sue bought a one-way airline ticket to Paris and how did she afford it? As Milt finds out after Rebecca's been kidnapped, the answers involve a group of racist right-wingers, a lot of dirty money and some ``nice'' local people. Despite some unlikely events (Milt's new love-at-first-sight; his recurring nightmare) this tale has real suspense and pace. Milt is a delightful narrator, both bemused and acerbic. (Oct.)