Guilt by Association (Danielle Ross Mystery Book #1) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Gilbert Morris

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162 pages

English

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Twelve strangers. One Ssecret that could cost them everything. Can Danielle Ross find the link before time runs out?

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 juillet 1991
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441239884
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0202€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

INTRODUCING...DANIELLE ROSS
and an exciting new mystery series by acclaimed author Gilbert Morris

Young, beautiful, and intelligent, Danielle Ross is a female detective, who along with hired sleuth Ben Savage, takes the world of crime by storm in a new series of novels that offer suspense, intrigue, and romance with a Christian perspective .

In Guilt by Association , the first of the Danielle Ross Mysteries, Dani’s faith is put to the ultimate test as the threat of death at the hands of a deranged captor looms over her and twelve others. As tensions rise and despair fills the hearts of the prisoners, Dani races against the clock to solve the mystery behind the strange abductions.
Here is the first in a series of entertaining, unforgettable books that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last.

© 1991 by Gilbert Morris

Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3988-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations in this volume are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations identified New International Version are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1979, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
In the life of every writer there is always that one person who gives the first boost that makes the whole thing possible and who’s always there to prop up the ego when things look a bit grim.
So here’s to a man who is that rare mixture of Christian zeal and scholarly mind, my first booster and my continual propper-upper:
Wendell Hawley
Contents

Cover
Introducing A New Series
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication

1. Homecoming
2. Savage
3. A New Client
4. The Silo
5. All the Guilty
6. The First Confession
7. “It’s Never Too Late!”
8. Second Warning
9. A Glimpse of the World
10. Inquiry
11. “Is It Just for Good People?”
12. A Private Ghost
13. Candi
14. Bix’s Plan
15. Caught in the Act
16. A Nice, Warm Bath
17. The Only Hope
18. Mr. Maxwell Stone
19. “Maybe We Can Make Something of Each Other!”

Books by Gilbert Morris
Back Cover
1
Homecoming

L adies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’ll be cruising today at thirty-five-thousand feet, en route from Atlanta to New Orleans. Just to give you a brief update on the weather in New Orleans, the temperature is seventy-eight degrees, with clear skies, winds light and variable out of the southeast. Our time en route today is going to be one hour and twelve minutes. We’re expecting a smooth ride, so sit back and let your flight attendant give you our good service.”
The captain ended his speech, and Danielle Ross settled back in the comfort of her seat in the Delta Boeing 757. Picking up the brochure from the pocket in front of her, she noted that the aircraft held 178 people and wished that the passenger on her right had been assigned to sit by someone else. Even as her thoughts turned to him, the man’s elbow pressed suggestively against her arm. He was a type she had learned to despise—a flashy dresser, crudely good-looking and with the mistaken impression that all he had to do was turn on his charm, and any woman would be captivated. She gave him a quick glance, taking in the cream-colored slacks, the expensive suede jacket, and the ostrich-leather boots. A smooth tan made his teeth look very white as he grinned boyishly at her. Dani wondered who his hairdresser was, for Apollo’s thick, blond hair fell across his brow in studied carelessness.
His name she knew, for immediately after boarding in Atlanta, he had introduced himself as Lance Apollo. She had nodded, refusing to give her name. Now, however, he seemed determined to bring her around.
“Say,” he said quickly, leaning close enough so that she could smell the strong odor of his shaving lotion. “I’ve got this deal with the mayor to wind up, but I’ll have it in the bag in a couple of hours.” He leaned closer, pressing his arm against hers, and lowered his voice to what he no doubt considered a sexy tone: “Now, it just so happens that the manager of the Sanger is a friend of mine—owes me a favor. You heard about that hit musical The Phantom of the Opera? Sure you have! Well, I can get a couple of good seats—no problem! Whaddaya say we take it in, then have a late snack at Antoines?”
The pressure of his arm increased. Dani shook her head firmly. “Sorry, I have some business I have to take care of.”
Apollo gave her a closer look, then bared his teeth. “Hey, let me guess your line!” He inspected her closely, sweeping her from head to foot.
What he saw was a tall young woman with a square face, perfect complexion, and fair coloring. He admired the wide mouth and noted the unusual gray-green of her large almond-shaped eyes. Her mouth was too wide and her chin too square and her nose just a trifle short for a beauty. He also noted the small, white scar on her right cheek, below the level of her earlobe. Most dames would have that taken care of with plastic surgery , he thought. Wonder why she never did? A mass of rich auburn hair fell across her shoulders, and one small mole stood out on her right cheek—a beauty mark of sorts. She wore a beige linen suit with a soft pink blouse and matching pink shoes.
After a careful look he said, “You’re in show biz, I bet.”
“No.”
“No? Well—a model then?”
“No.”
He ignored her curt answers and shook his head. “Nah—you wouldn’t be a model. They’re all skin and bones. No, you wouldn’t be a model with those curves!” He pressed against her and demanded, “What is your line?”
“I’m a minister of the gospel.”
Dani’s broad lips turned up at the corners as Apollo’s face revealed his shock. Sensing a movement on her left, she turned her head to see that the muscular middle-aged man who’d sat wordlessly beside her all the way from Boston had lifted his head from his book and now stared at her with a startled expression in his faded blue eyes.
Dani spent a great deal of time fending men off, and it had been a relief to make the flight from Boston without a problem. At the same time, this man had puzzled her. Ordinarily, people speak when they are side by side, just inches away, even if only of superficial things—but her companion had nodded slightly as she sat down, then had drawn a cloak of silence around himself. For the first hour, Dani had paid him no attention, yet as she had read the flight magazine, she had studied him without a deliberate effort. Watching people had become second nature to her, and she knew almost at once that this man was troubled. His unsteady hands betrayed him, and instead of reading his book, he stared blankly at the page, not turning it for fifteen minutes. Although she could see only the right side of his face, she noted how the lips would tighten, then droop, lapsing once into a tremble that he shut off by quickly biting his lower lip. His eyes were vague, but once, when he turned to take a soft drink from the stewardess, Dani saw fear in his expression, and he blinked too rapidly.
At once she sensed that her words “I’m a minister of the gospel” had shaken him. As Dani started to speak, from her right, Apollo’s big hand closed on her upper arm, and she was pulled back to face him. Irritated that she had turned from him, Apollo shook his head. “A preacher? Hey, that’s cool!” He had her attention, or so he believed, and she could almost read his thoughts: This broad is a preacher? All right, so that’s what I work on!
“I’m sort of religious myself. . . .” He nodded, and, holding on to her arm firmly, began telling some story about how he went to church when he was a boy.
Dani looked at him, wondering how to get free of his attention. Obviously if she was to have any opportunity to speak to the man beside the window, ordinary methods would not work. A thought flashed into her mind. At first she rejected it, but as it came back, her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed.
“Stewardess?” she called out as a red-haired girl in a wine-colored uniform was approaching. “Could I have a cup of black coffee—a large cup, please?”
“Surely! I’ll get it right now.”
As she waited for the drink, doubt flitted through Dani’s mind. Even if he is second cousin to a gorilla, do I have the right, Lord . . . ? After all, I don’t really want to hurt him .
At that moment Apollo laid a hand upon her knee and accompanied the action with crudely sensual words even a gorilla would know never to apply to a minister of the gospel.
Well, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander , decided Dani stubbornly. And I’d say this gander has it coming to him .
The stewardess arrived with the coffee. “Careful—it’s hot!” she warned as she handed it over.
“Oh, I’ll be careful.” Dani nodded as she took the cup, tasting it carefully. Good, it was scalding hot. Placing the cup on the small fold-down table before her, she half turned in her seat, leaning as close as she could get to the man. Her eyes widened so that they seemed enormous to Apollo, and when she whispered in a throaty voice, “Can you really get tickets for that musical?” he almost jumped out of his skin.
He grinned, triumph in his greedy eyes, and he lifted his right hand to touch her cheek, saying, “Baby, you’d better believe it! Just you and me, and after the show—Ow—!” Apollo leaped out of his seat, brushing at the front of his slacks, which were stained with the coffee. Dani’s h