Sedona in Red. The Hale and Green Eyes Mysteries, #1

It's Christmas Eve morning in Sedona, Arizona, during the worst snowstorm in a decade. Diehard students of a morning class wait for someone to open the Kung Fu studio. The assistant instructor arrives late and lets them in. As the class heads for the locker rooms, they discover the body of their internationally renowned Kung Fu master. Yim Ming Chun was naked, decapitated, and castrated, with his head placed in a lewd position.
It's a clear message, but who sent it? There's no sign of forced entry. The broken crystal of the victim's wristwatch stopped at 5 a.m. Apart from the broken watch, there's no sign of a struggle. There's a damp umbrella standing in a puddle in the hall to the locker rooms, Chinese carry-out containers in the trash, and an empty wine bottle left in one of the men's side shower stalls. Two rival detectives, one Anglo and the other Apache, assigned by the Arizona State Police to investigate, have few clues and fewer suspects.
Sedona is divided into two counties; the north end, where the murder takes place, is located in Coconino County, under Flagstaff's jurisdiction. The majority of the county is part of Yavapai. under Prescott. The Sedona Sheriff oversees both counties. He hates Native Americans. His nemesis is Chief Alamono of the Flagstaff District Station. Alamono won the bid to take over the District Station that Sheriff Walters coveted.
Walters decides to make things difficult for the Flagstaff officers by allowing white officers from Prescott to start interviewing the witnesses. Next, the sheriff calls Chief Alamono to say he will not tolerate Native Americans leading the investigation in Sedona. He demands that Frank Hale be put in charge of the case. When Frank Hale and Alma Nachez arrive at the scene, Hale complains about the numerous Prescott personnel inside the studio.
Sheriff Walters tells him that the Prescott contingent arrived first, but not to worry; Hale's old friend and mentor, Sergeant Ted Peterson, is inside the studio and has everything under control. Hale's Apache partner knows Amerinds are not welcome in Sedona. She smolders over the assignment because of the bigoted sheriff's authority, plus being placed under a lower-ranking Anglo partner she believes to be a has-been.
Hale was once a legend with the best conviction rate in the state. He has recently come off his second alcohol related suspension. The only station willing to offer him a job was in Indian Country. Chief Alamono is the only Apache in charge of a District Station. He hired Hale based on his past record and the need for someone who is white and well-liked by the other stations to act as his liaison.
Alma Nachez is a pugnacious Apache traditionalist. Navajo and Yavapai officers at the station fear her. Her striking green eyes spook them. They believe she uses witchcraft to solve her cases. As a favor to her friend, Chief Alamono,  she agreed to monitor Hale's sobriety. At one point while searching for clues at the kung fu studio, Nachez smelled liquor on Hale's breath. She won't report him to Alamono if he goes home and leaves her in charge of the investigation.
He reminds her that the Sheriff and officers from Prescott will run her out of town before they let her take charge.  Meanwhile, Ted Peterson calls the State Department to inquire about the Chinese victim's legal status. State informs Central Intelligence. Determination. The United States cannot afford to have its enemies think we are unable to protect high-profile defectors. The CIA requests the FBI to close the case before word gets out.
Using subterfuge, hijinks, and near-disastrous blunders, Hale and Nachez manage to solve the case, hold a news conference, and take the credit before the FBI can shut them down. Sedona in Red is gritty noir fiction, not suitable for readers under 18. .