Derek straightened his thin frame and briefly met Michael's eyes. He said, "Do you know The Ghost?"
Michael stiffened at the mention of his street name. He kept his expression carefully neutral and did what he always did when baffled. He repeated the words. "The Ghost?"
We've heard the rumors," Derek said. "What he did for Nicki. We know he's real. And someone that good, he'd be able to find Sara..."
"Missing?" Michael looked straight at the boys. "Like disappeared? Or maybe got tired of the streets and went back home?"
Derek and Jay glanced at each other in more silent communication. "She has no home to go back to," Jay said. Derek mustered all one hundred-thirty pounds into an angry shield. He said, "And living on the streets doesn't mean it's normal to disappear. People don't just disappear...
Beyond Salvation:
A Michael Sykora Novel
By Darcia Helle
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| Michael Smirked. "You two would make great poster boys for the diversity in career choices with a business degree..." ~~~ |
 |
| "Business Slow?" Michael asked. "Only because I've developed this uncontrollable and most irritating habit of turning down work... Michael laughed. "Blame your conscience, not me..." ~~~
Why do I always pick older guys
for characters? Well, they're my
heroes earlier in life!
|
 |
| "I do know." "Because those kids told you. What about the proof you always require?" "I saw Derek's scars," Michael said. "He'd been whipped. And branded." "Branded?" "The number 666." ~~~
Actually, there are four main characters working on this case including Michael...Cool group!
And Jackson could easily play any of the 3 male leads! |
 |
| Michael and Sean carried the girls to Nicki's car. One of them stirred. Her eyes flickered but she couldn't fight the drug long enough to awaken. Michael didn't introduce Nicki to Sean. He hadn't even wanted the two of them to meet. However, given the circumstances, he had been left with little alternative... Michael said, "Drive carefully. Don't give the cops a reason to stop you." "Sharon's place is less than a block from here," Nicki said... "How do I explain where I found them?" "Say you found them in a park or something, Michael said. "You wanted to bring them somewhere safe..." ~~~ Avery had a very large congregation with considerable financial tithing... And when a child presented some type of problem for his rich church members, he had several ways by which he would help them...
Sara's friends had asked for help and they
soon found that she had very likely been
taken from the streets, like many others.
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This book has one, and more, of those characters you love to hate...
One is a psychologist handling a program for teens
One if a leader of a church congregation...
One is the preacher's son...
'Nuf Said!
When criminals enter the religious arena as the base for criminal actions, it is even more heinous, and the Divinity Church had individuals involved in kidnapping runaways, blackmail, sex and drug trafficking, in addition to the "tiny" sin of murder...
Even the very unreverend Robert Ward Avery didn't know the extent of what they were into!
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| "Women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but should be submissive, as the law also says." Robert Ward Avery recited the quote as if he'd spoken it a thousand times before. That, of course, was because he had. His voice was deceptively quiet and calm...n the Lord's house should not be tolerated. However, she did nod in acknowledgment. No spoken words. Smart girl, she was paying attention to my word. "Do you remember the verse from Deuteronomy?" Avery asked, "The punishment for not being chaste?" "But if, evidence of virginity are not found for the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones..." ~~~ |
Fortunately, Sara had two street friends and Michael had accepted what they had told them, got further information from a friend of Nicki's who was still working the streets, and they moved quickly to try to find her...
I must admit that the complexity and twists just among the criminals--those that were members of the church but involved in activities not known by the pastor really set up this book for an unbelievable and extremely provocative thriller... Readers will not know the extent of what was happening until nearly the end of the book. All I can say is that if I needed similar help as Sara, then I'd be looking for Michael Sykora myself! You just gotta love him! Don't miss this and the other books in this series!
GABixlerReviews
Suspense, random blood spatter and mismatched socks consume Darcia's days. She writes because the characters trespassing through her mind leave her no alternative. Only then are the voices free to haunt someone else's mind.
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