The Dead Giveaway: A Ghost Story in the High Desert

This is the story of a recently released patient from an institution for the criminally insane. He had been diagnosed as bipolar when, in fact, he does see and hear ghosts. The Ghost is based on a historical figure, William Keys, who was instrumental in the development of Joshua Tree National Park. Keys spent five years in prison after being unjustly convicted of murder. Lewis Price has a big problem. After single-handedly thwarting a bank robbery, he is expected to give testimony during the upcoming trial, since he is the only reliable eyewitness to the robbery attempt. The district attorney has gone missing, and the assistant DA has reservations regarding whether Lewis will hold up on the stand since he has only recently been released from a mental institution. According to his medical records, Lewis Price is bipolar. None of the above is his big problem. In actuality, Lewis is not bipolar. The people he sees and hears—that no one around him sees or hears—are not figments of his imagination. Lewis has a rare gift, or is it a curse? He can see and hear ghosts. There is an insistent ghost in the high desert community of Joshua Tree who requires assistance, and Lewis Price is his choice to assist.