The Artesian Affair

By: Champfleur, D.

When Colonel Richard Jadsen collapses and dies in Suite 14D of the Artesian Hotel in Sulphur, Oklahoma, the scene appears at first to be a quiet tragedy-a retired Air Force officer passing peacefully during a birthday getaway with his wife. But to Captain Hawk of the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police, the room tells a different story. The air carries an unnatural metallic scent, the colonel's skin shows marbling that doesn't fit a simple medical event, and the wife's terrified stillness feels like the beginning of something-not the end.

Officer Overton joins Hawk almost immediately, the rhythm they have developed now clear and sure. Overton notices details others overlook: the untouched desserts, the faint chemical traces, the absence of struggle. Nothing in the suite adds up cleanly. And although Jin Jadsen, the colonel's Seoul-born wife, appears shaken but unharmed, there is something about her fear-controlled, polite, and buried under practiced composure-that unsettles them both.

OSBI detectives Jack Holloway and Betty Penny arrive to assist, stepping into the uneasy, overlapping world of tribal, state, and federal jurisdiction that defines post-McGirt Oklahoma. Holloway reads the scene with his usual cool precision, but it is Betty, the financial-crimes specialist with a talent for pattern recognition, who first spots the inconsistencies in the couple's financial footprint. Their travels, spending habits, and recent transactions suggest a life more complicated than their neighbors ever imagined.

The Artesian Hotel itself becomes a character in the investigation-its polished luxury sitting atop the ancient healing springs of Sulphur, a place where the Chickasaw Nation has poured heart, history, and resources into renewal. The investigators walk its spa corridors, boutique shops, and the art-rich plaza, learning quickly that the Jadsens interacted with far more people during their stay than their itinerary suggests. White Dog Studios, with its blend of local artists and travelers, provides the first hints that the couple's final hours were not the quiet, private celebration the records portray.

But before Hawk and his team can assemble a full picture, catastrophe strikes again.

Jin Jadsen disappears from the hotel. The staff last see her stepping into the wet evening air with a look of quiet determination. Hours later, her body is found miles outside Sulphur, lying near the edge of a rural road-alone, undisturbed, and without any sign of a struggle. Whatever killed her did so cleanly, quickly, and without leaving the usual chaos foul play creates.

Now the investigation is split in two: a death in a luxury suite, and a second death on an empty road. Two settings that should have nothing in common. Two victims who shared everything. And a motive that is still hidden, tightly woven beneath layers of money, memory, and fear.

Hawk, Overton, Holloway, and Penny dig deeper, tracing the Jadsens' recent movements, reviewing camera footage, examining meal histories, and looking into old military records. Toxicology reports suggest deliberate poisoning. Restaurant logs show meals routed through hands that no longer work at the Artesian. Camera footage from the hotel reveals gaps-small, precise, intentional.

As more threads unravel, it becomes clear that the Jadsens were entangled in something larger than a birthday trip. Something connected to financial secrets, old military contacts, and people who understand exactly how to move through jurisdictional cracks. Jin's terror at the hotel, her sudden disappearance, and her lonely death on the roadside transform the case from a simple question of homicide into a layered mystery involving identity, betrayal, and a danger still moving through the dark.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FV8XKPBH
• ISBN13: 9798268883848
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.0" x 8.0"