Out of the Cold Dark Sea by Jeffrey D. Briggs

Alone on a pier in the predawn rain, Martha Whitaker waits in vain for her mentor and long-trusted friend, Hewitt Wilcox. Fear had laced his last message. Hours later, when his empty van is hoisted from the frigid waters of Puget Sound, Martha sets off to find the truth of what happened to him--and to clear her own name. Resourceful, strong, and steeled by inner wounds, she’s joined by a crusading journalist, who believes Hewitt’s disappearance may reveal ugly secrets about a chapter of American history that some would prefer be forgotten. Together they’re drawn into a sinister world of forgery, murder, and betrayal. Martha is forced to confront her own dark past, where violence provided primal justice. In a fight for her life, she finds she’s in a fight for her soul.