The Gold Coin by Eddy Rogers

Betty Longstreet, a prominent client of John Mariner, a Blanco, Texas, lawyer, is brutally murdered and robbed. Mariner is hired to handle the estate, but to probate the estate, Mariner must make sure that the murderer is not one of the beneficiaries. Because of Bettys tumultuous lifestyle, the list of suspects is long. Bob Hauffler, the Blanco County Sheriff and a friend of Mariner, heads up solving the murder with Mariners help and with the help of Mariners retired policeman buddy, Larry Wagner. Along the way Mariners life is threatened but eventually the team pieces together the complicated reasons for the murder and the people who did it.