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St. Abient Run
Paperback
Series: Conspiracy, Book 1
Mystery & ThrillerChristian FictionGeneral Fiction
Publisher Price: $14.99
ISBN13: 9781952406058
Publisher: Northridge Press
Published: Oct 7 2021
Pages: 280
Weight: 0.91
Height: 0.63 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Journalist Susan Pardue investigates a Christian Center in France, alleged to be a front for an international smuggling ring. Her boss Mark Ashley has a personal stake in the investigation. His cousin Benjamin attends the Center and is rumored to be involved with drugs.
Pastor John Volar, head of the Center, is under surveillance by Interpol. Susan and Mark uncover evidence linking three of Volar's backers to the Center's laundered accounts.
Benjamin disappears, and Mark is devastated. Both he and Susan have already lost a sibling to drugs; both hold themselves partially responsible. He sneers when she encourages him to have faith. Susan insists she is finished with blaming God and herself. She tells Mark that their siblings made their own choices. She and Mark can't change what's happened, but they can try to save Benjamin and report the truth about the Center.
Framed for cocaine possession, Susan and Mark are released when authorities determine the white powder is not cocaine. In Bulgaria, Susan finds a dead body in her hotel bathtub with a note warning she may be next. The following day, she narrowly escapes a bomb planted on her train in Budapest. Somebody who has strong connections with Pastor Volar and the Christian Center wants her gone.
South African entrepreneurs Peter Frazier and Ewald Lauter are under investigation for stock market manipulation and diamond smuggling. From his protected world of high-finance, Lauter manipulates drug lords, militant terrorists and elections around the globe.
One of Lauter's men attacks Benjamin, leaving him in critical condition. An anguished Mark, on his knees praying for Benjamin's survival, relinquishes the guilt that has embittered him.
Susan returns to the Center, aware of changes in Mark that touch her deeply. When she returns Mark haltingly shares his testimony, discovering that Susan's faith has grown as well. He leaves to track down Lauter and in the process learns how important Susan has become to him.
Lauter's Machiavellian schemes begin to crumble when he orders one of his minion's planes bombed. His frightened partner Frazier gives evidence against him. The authorities uncover a plastics factory doubling as Lauter's drug lab. Mark joins the authorities in Munich, where they set a trap to catch Lauter. They find Susan and Benjamin locked in an upstairs factory chamber. While surrounded, Lauter escapes and sets fire to the drug labs. Susan and Mark catch Lauter in the act and the two barely escape as the building detonates into an angry inferno. Benjamin and the authorities are already outside.
Afterward, Volar is cleared. The Center's reputation remains unsullied. Lauter is believed to have died in the explosion. His partner Frazier is among those indicted. Mark and Susan have fallen in love. No trace of Lauter or the stolen jewels are ever discovered.
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