Mark Coggins. Vulture Capital (2002) 295 pp.
When venture capitalist Ted Valmont learns that the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of a biotech firm in which he has invested is missing, it’s not just business, it’s personal. Not only is the CTO an old friend, his disappearance jeopardizes the development of the firm’s most important product: a device intended to aid spinal cord injury victims. Since Valmont’s twin brother was paralyzed in a college diving accident, finding the CTO is of utmost importance to both brothers. Valmont hires San Francisco private eye August Riordan to assist in the search and they soon discover that the disappearance is part of a larger conspiracy to use the firm’s technology for perverse applications.