Mystery / Suspense
Publication date: Print and ebook, May 2017. Audiobook, November 2019
In this suspense-charged, touching novel, Counting on Trust, information is stolen from a U.S. genetic engineering company (Omniprotein) by an employee promised payment by a Chinese general who wants to profit from selling the company’s technologies in the military region of China he commands.
To force quick payment the thief attacks fellow employees and threatens to continue until his money arrives. Will his next targets be: young lovers, computer geek Gabriel and gorgeous biologist Selena, who are discovering loving sex while trying to overcome post-traumatic effects of Selena’s girlhood rape.
Company president, Eleanor, who’s determined to keep some privacy and intimacy although her job’s high profile and her husband, Charley, has just had prostate cancer surgery.
Venture capitalist, John, who plans to duplicate Omniprotein’s facility in China and reunite with his ex-wife, fashion designer Ziyi, who returned to Shanghai after their only child died.
The personal stories of these couples explore how privacy, intimacy and trust are changing in our social-media age. They paint a compelling portrait of our time.
EXCERPT:
Joanne reached the bottom of the fire
stairs and went down the dock, trailing her right hand along the brick wall of
the plant to keep her bearings. Although she’d seen several of the
demonstrations in which swimmers played games with the creatures in the lake
and knew they wouldn’t harm her deliberately if she fell in, she wanted nothing
to do with the “unnatural brutes,” as Mom called them. Near the entrance to the
viewing pavilion more steps led down to the sand where Chase had said he’d be
waiting to guide her to the place he’d made ready.
At the
end of the building she angled toward the pavilion and suddenly there he was.
She reached out to the darker shadow of his body and the yearning she felt when
she wasn’t with him turned to happiness. But in the same moment part of her
held back; although this was Chase, her sweet lover, his body was stiff,
unwelcoming. Then everything was all right when he pulled her against his
familiar bulk and his erection poked her belly.
He
breathed in her ear, “You’re here oh God you’re finally here” as he guided her
into the pavilion, evidently unwilling in his urgency to go down to the beach
to make love as he’d said they would. Flattered, she let him take her with him
to the floor, her body supple with desire, yet she remained somewhat anxious.
But she was being held with gentleness as if she were precious to him and she
realized he was trembling, almost shuddering with tension. Amazed she could
have such an effect, she stroked his cheek.
He
pulled back from her, still whispering, “I’ve been waiting so long, this has to
go well, you mustn’t be frightened.”
“I’m
not frightened,” she assured him, also whispering to share his intensity. Her
other hand found his penis. She might have expected he’d already have put on a
condom. He always planned ahead.
At her
touch he inhaled sharply and jerked away. “No, we mustn’t hurry,” he said, his
voice strangled. He reached past her and fumbled for something in the darkness.
The
smell of chocolate reached her and she giggled because she’d had the same idea
but had left her thermos of hot chocolate on the railing at the top of the fire
stairs. She was touched he’d brought her favorite beverage.
“I know
how much you love this.” He slid a hand beneath her head to raise it and held a
cup to her lips. “I tried to make it the way you like it but it seems very
strong. Tell me it doesn’t taste bitter.”
Needing
him, trembling now as he was but respectful of his self-control and kindness in
not wanting to rush her, she took a deep swallow. The chocolate had cooled and
tasted unpleasant. It wasn’t bitter but had a heavy, artificial citrus
undertaste. He must have used the mix he’d been bringing to motels so she could
have hot chocolate for breakfast. Because he’d bought it for her especially she
hadn’t told him she didn’t care for it or that she hadn’t opened the container
of it he’d given her to take to the break room in the security office. Tonight
he’d made the chocolate much too strong.
Propped
on an elbow she drained the cup to show appreciation for his thoughtfulness in
bringing it and avoid giving him an excuse for further delay. “It’s delicious,”
she said.
As she
took the cup from his hand to put it beside her on the floor, she realized he
had on plastic gloves; that was why his hand behind her head felt strange
against her neck. Her mobile was gone. Could it have slipped out of its
holster? Had he taken it? Alarmed now, she reached for her baton but she was
lying on it. She tried to sit up, pushing a hand against his solid torso.
“Stop
that,” he said in a hard voice she’d never heard from him. He forced her flat
and lowered himself onto her. His erection poked her leg. He was heavy; she
couldn’t move. She tried to scream although no one would hear her, to pull her
hands free to jam her thumbs in his eyes the way she’d been taught in
self-defense practice but she felt drowsy and her arms and legs lacked
strength. José, help me, she thought. José was home in bed, sick.
Chase
raised his body from hers but pinned her hands on the floor and rested a knee
on her legs, as if waiting for something. She had to get free of him; she
didn’t like this. Sometimes he did such dumb things. She was very angry.
The
anger passed as she began to understand. He’d given her something to help her
enjoy sex more; that was it. Whatever it was had lifted her into a daze in
which she didn’t care that the floor was dirty and stank of mold or that the
citrus undertaste of the chocolate lingered in her mouth and made her feel like
vomiting. She couldn’t help it, she was drifting off.
She
awoke—immediately she thought—trying to get her breath. He still was holding
her down. She tried to push him away but fell asleep.
She
awoke again because she needed to cough but couldn’t. Breathing was so hard
now, why was that? She felt lightheaded and had to sleep some more. . . .
Her
lungs wouldn’t expand; this was the worst feeling she’d ever had. What was
happening? Why did he keep holding her down when he should be doing something
to help her breathe? Fighting to pull air into her lungs and stay awake, again
she made another effort to free herself. He was heavy, strong, she couldn’t
breathe, she had to sleep. As she lost consciousness her mouth formed the
words, “Don’t do this, I love you,” but no sound came.
About the Author
Themes of novels by M. Ferguson Powers reflect the author’s varied interests, including preservation of the natural world and its creatures;
· Challenges of building and maintaining loving relationships in a culture with decreasing respect for personal boundaries and privacy
· Influences of globalization on world events and how the U. S. and other nations relate to one another
· Public policy issues such as controlling the military-industrial-political complex and requiring the health care industry to be more respectful of its clients
· The need for cooperation across governments, cultures, and societies to address global challenges such as climate change
· Developments in business and university administration and management
Powers has taught microbiology, headed a university office of research, served as executive director of two university-business partnership programs, and co-authored two books on university administration. She has a bachelor of science degree in bacteriology from The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s in experimental psychology from George Mason University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
She lives on an island near Seattle with her husband David R. Powers and their two shelties. Her first novel, Each Unique and Fascinating, about a bullied young girl whose father has gone to war, was published in 2012. OrcaSpeak, a novel of relationships and suspense, was published in 2013, and its prequel, Counting on Trust, was published in 2017.
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