Publisher's Synopsis
A fast paced mystery that morphs but never loses momentum. Clem, Connie and Jake are three people lost in time for different reasons, but sharing the agony of their present existence. In the fabric of society, the homeless are the tattered fringes that sometimes annoyingly dangle within our view, only to disappear when our minds focus on the rest of the garment. On one hand, they are unsightly and need to be trimmed. On the other, there is a certain comfort knowing there is a history behind them that gives them value. Clemson Edwards was a professor of Eastern Studies at a small college, somewhere in Iowa. He had written books on Eastern philosophy and discussed Chinese culture on talk radio stations throughout the Midwest. But his wife of over 40 years passed away suddenly. And with her passing went his desire to teach. His journey to the Main Street Mission is chronicled only in his mind. And now he writes on the walls of abandoned buildings and speaks mostly to himself. He has never smiled. But when asked if everything is ok, he nods his head "yes". There is an old saying that one man's floor is another man's ceiling. It can be said of Clem that one man's being "ok" is another man's misery. Connie Black is a "looker." Not in the passive sense of being the adorable object of a man's glance or glare. But in the active sense of someone who is always looking for something better in life. Faith can be blind to some people. A self-serving virtue to turn to when times get tough. To others like Connie, hope is the virtue of choice. A sincere belief that something better is just around the corner. Living on the street and having faith alone is considered a sign of weakness. It is an unreal commitment to a past belief. Hope, on the other hand, doesn't require commitment, just the ability to dream past the agonies of the present and forward to the possibility of something better in the future. Connie is a looker in another way also. She is Clem's advance scout, looking for recyclables. Clem gives her 20% of the cash he receives for everything she leads him to. She is one of only two people Clem talks to on a regular basis. Jake Perdido is a member of the homeless upper class. He actually has a room at the mission. But like the other residents, he has no home, no family and no sense of belonging to modern society. His full length, reddish-brown beard is scruffy and his light brown hair is pulled into a tight pony tail to straighten out the tangles and give the appearance of being much cleaner than it actually is. His steel blue eyes and clear complexion under his beard suggests that he had no trouble attracting women when he was younger and better kept. But time and technology have passed him by. Jake isn't caught up in blind faith. Or hope, for that matter. He's a day-to--day survivor. Whatever happens happens. If he had to pick a virtue to guide him it would be charity. Not necessarily because he has a Mother Teresa complex. He just believes the more time he spends helping others, the less time he has to wonder about who he is. Jake was the recipient of a hard blow to the back of his head in a motorcycle accident. And now he is a card-carrying amnesiac. He has retained his motor skills and memory of habits. So he is a functioning "nobody". He can read, write and recite history ...except for his own. And so goes the lives of three of those tattered edges. When the members of the homeless community are seemingly being murdered for no reason at all, they band together to try to uncover a major plot emanating from the rich side of town. The plot twists and the list of suspects constantly changes as two sides of the town collide only to be drawn together in a unique way with Jake right smack in the middle. The killer is conscienceless, his boss is ruthless and the police are no help..until! Readers need to be prepared to search their soul, have their heart tugged upon, and smile after meeting some new fictiona
