Cruel Sanctuary

Book excerpt: Father Mark Townsend is mystified by evidence that St. Joseph parish has an unknown visitor hiding in the church each night. Believing that it could be one of Seattle's homeless youth in need of help, the priest leaves a brief note along with a $20 bill, urging whomever it is to come and see him. To his surprise, it's the police who pay him a visit. The dead body of a fourteen-year-old boy has been found in the park, badly bruised and violated, with Father Mark's incriminating note and $20 bill in his pocket. The police want to know about Mark's relationship with the boy, a runaway originally from a small Alaskan village whose family now lives in Carnation, Washington. The priest is stunned, yet concern for the boy's family, as well as his own reputation demands that he look for answers. But his investigation becomes entangled with the rest of his pastoral duties, causing a storm of disapproval and suspicion among parish leaders. Now the only way this busy Jesuit can calm the troubled waters and clear his name is to find the real killer. . .before he strikes again.