SOLVED. YA/ Adventure. Orphaned boy in small desert town, searching for lost treasure that wealthy former resident had supposedly hidden. He befriends an older drifter type named Tuscaloosa. Some criminals are also after treasure. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Graham]

The book ends with Tuscaloosa attempting to escape the police by jumping his car (I think it was a 60's mustang) over a raised drawbridge. He doesn't make it, and the car falls into the river. He climbs out onto the roof and him and the car are taken over a waterfall. They don't find his body. That's the part of the book I most vividly remember.

It's set in the US, in an arid small town, probably in the Southwest. Cactus grows there. There were a few really wonderful accompanying black and white illustrations, which showed Tuscaloosa to be a burly, heavily mustached man with shaggy black hair and a jean jacket.

I'm almost certain this book was published between 2005-2010, as I bought it brand-new from a book fair around then. It had a black cover with a few silhouettes on it - a pistol, a spur, Tuscaloosa's car, maybe a cactus, and some other stuff.

[Ayshe]

Where Dogs Run? woldcat.org's summary mentions Tuscaloosa: "Eleven-year-old Josh Graham suspects that his missing dog has been stolen by "the Dog Man", or Jonagold Jones, seen wandering the streets with dogs. Josh enlists the help of a man named Tuscaloosa and their search reveals the difficult pasts of all three characters."

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Graham, was your book "Where Dogs Run" or are you still looking?

[Graham]

Yep, Where Dogs Run is it. I completely forgot I made this post and checked back on a whim, and it's so good to be know I wasn't imagining reading it. Thank you so much!

[Kris]

Great. Glad you found your book, Graham. Thanks for the update.