In Mayaki’s Doll: Had they known that the scar on her foot would give them away, they would have set the car ablaze before pushing it over…

Mayaki’s Doll ~ Crime/Mystery

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EXCERPT: Mayaki’s Doll

The helicopter blew to smithereens, a huge ball of fire in the sky. The flaming debris cascaded down on the forest in a massive shower of fireworks and the resultant effect of the explosion created a momentary tremor in the earth underneath us that I actually shifted on my feet. Then came a sudden uproar of jubilation; the entire village of Rihuku was agog. A tremendous victory for them.

There wasn’t a moment to waste, and Chief Mahiri again began issuing new orders. At his command, the women and children began disappearing back into the huts. I followed him back to the clearing. Able-bodied young men amounting to sixteen in number had assembled themselves before him. Dabilu was evidently the leader of the pack.

Chief Mahiri’s voice was fierce as he bellowed words to the men. Like soldiers heading out to war, they listened raptly. When he was through speaking, the men turned and followed Dabilu away from the clearing. Then one after the other, all disappeared through one of the dark crevices between the huts.

“Chief, what are you proposing to do now?” I asked.

He turned his face to me. “I’m leading the men out to Inua’s. It has been ordained that he dies today!”

“Are you talking about an ambush—a surprise attack then?”

“If we don’t move fast, he will send his men out here to hunt for you. Already the helicopter is late in returning, though unknown to him it has met with a fate far greater than he can ever imagine.”

“But Chief,” I said, “my friends are there at the villa. They can easily be mistaken for Inua’s thugs. They are innocent. If your people should…”

He looked at me innocuously. “It can’t be helped, I’m sorry. This is war. In a war, lives are sacrificed. Inua has to be taken out, and to achieve this anything will be compromised.”

“Including the lives of my loved ones? Your war is with Inua and not them. Your men are not trained in the requisite military maneuvers required in a situation like this. Look, Chief, it can be helped. You can get Inua, and at the same time save the lives of my friends trapped there. If you order your men to—”

It was hopeless; the chief was inattentive. Mahiri’s soldiers were re-emerging, all fully armed with a variety of modern assault weapons: automatic rifles, and a couple with mortar guns. They looked like savages—which was actually what they were at the time. Without pausing for a moment, they walked with heavy feet past us, marching their way into the waiting jungle, and disappearing one after the other through the curtain of tall grasses.

“Chief Mahiri, please!” I pleaded, clutching at his arm. “Please, you must halt this madness!”

In a single jerk of his hand, he loosened himself from my grip. He stared at me, all the sanctity gone from his face. He was now somebody different: a warrior—leading his men out to an unpredictable war.

“Madness, you say?” he spat out in anger. The bulging veins in his neck were budding as though they were being fed compressed air. “I am the chief of this village; it is my duty to look after my people. Already, in whispers they speak that I am weak. Is it madness to avenge the lives of those Inua has killed? My daughter? We have consulted with the oracle, and even now that we go, four from our party will not return. It pleases my heart if I should be the only one. The guilt of my daughter’s death weighs heavily on my conscience.” Then again turning his face toward the huts he barked, “Kaila!

Twitter: @efbenedict9

Also by Francis Benedict

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BLURB

Two states are under siege of an unknown strain of meningitis outbreak among children…

Eight highly reputable laboratories are in the race for a potent cure within the shortest time possible…

Of the lot, only IngoSmart is on the threshold of coming up with a deliverable vaccine, but this is so because scientists there are using indigent children kidnapped from the streets as guinea pigs. It is a well kept secret, right up to that night Dr. Adeishi Omini opened the door she mistook for the antigens storage room.

Consequently for Adeishi, her inadvertent discovery has led to the gruesome murder of her boyfriend and set her on the run for her life. What she has discovered hidden in the dark basement mustn’t reach the knowledge of the outside world. IngoSmart’s owner, Morgan Nicholson, has sent killers on her trail and nothing will stand in the way of their finding her.

But another figure deep within has a different plan in mind. Working in synergy with Obed Ringim, an ex-army investigator, the duo are bent on thwarting IngoSmart’s every move concerning the use of children for an unwholesome experiment. But for their plan to work, first, they will have to be quick enough to locate Adeishi and, possibly, her shadow confederate, Mike Ellams, before the wealthy American’s assassins can rid the one major witness of her life.

REVIEW: To Cure

To Cure!

By Francis Benedict

Reviewer: Victoria Schwimley

Rating: 5 Stars

I had the pleasure of reading To Cure by Francis Benedict. This book is filled with adventure and suspense. There are bad guys chasing good guys and good guys chasing the bad guys, and a couple of time the characters got a little confusing for me, so pay attention. A young doctor witnesses something her company doesn’t want her to see and ends up running for her life. Good guy Mike is just an innocent bystander who gets into trouble just by being a good Samaritan. There are couple of heroes I didn’t see coming that put a smile on my face, and a few times where I held my breath. The book is well-written and earned my five-star rating of, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are interesting and varying in type. I highly recommend this book to mystery readers and people who like Robin Cook type books.

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