Q is for Quarry

"Jane Doe" was the name of the unnamed white woman whose lifeless corpse was found next to a quarry off Highway 1 in California.

The Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department took up the investigation, but its investigators had little evidence. The lady was young, had many stab wounds, had her neck slit, and her wrists tied with a piece of wire. Months of inquiry did not lead to the murder's resolution.

It was eighteen years in the past. Now that their lengthy careers in law enforcement are coming to a close, the two men who discovered the corpse want to give the case one final go. They come to Kinsey Millhone because they are sick and elderly and need assistance with their legwork. Intrigued, Kinsey accepts the position. However, going back to the past may be risky; with Kinsey at the center of it all, it turns into a high-risk quest for her murderer.

Based on a real unsolved 1969 crime, "Q is for Quarry" has rekindled police interest in the case thanks to Grafton's involvement. After the corpse was dug up in 2001, a forensic artist with national recognition recreated the face that appears in the last few pages of "Q is for Quarry." Grafton and the committed Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department officers are both optimistic that the picture would bring back memories that might result in a successful identification. In 2020, this had not yet happened.

Several police officers were present at the cemetery on the day Jane Doe was reburied. Grafton says, "It's unsettling to consider the influence this woman still possesses." Thirty-three years later, she is still aching to return home."