Encounter by Deadline (Avalon Mystery)

Morgan Walker doesn't have anywhere else to turn. When her husband, Cole, fails to return home from his freelance photography job, Morgan calls on Cole's former co-worker, Fort Lauderdale TV reporter Matt Bowens, for help. Desperate for answers, Morgan brings Matt an unopened box that she hopes might contain a clue to finding her husband. After Matt discovers the box is filled with diamonds, he questions Morgan's honesty but is forced, nonetheless, to follow her down a trail of murder and deceit.

Rather than reporting on the story, Matt soon finds himself a part of it, forced to run from both the police and the thugs looking for him and endangering himself and everyone around him in the process.

Matt's investigation takes him from Fort Lauderdale Beach to the fog-laden floor of the Florida Everglades in search of the clue that will help him crack the case, knowing that the story won't be over until there is a final encounter by deadline.