Charity Is Missing: The Stakes Are Higher Than You Think

By Danny Niñal

Charity Is Missing is a story of Charity as a person juxtaposed with Charity as a virtue, both of which were missing in the fictional Manakitanga Island when a series of crimes happened, all within the weekend.

Frank Dunn, a police detective, and his very versatile team were tested for the first time. The city of Manakitanga was known as one of the most peaceful cities in the country. They never had a murder case in twenty-one years and never experienced a series of crimes committed all within forty-eight to seventy-two hours. But, as they followed every lead, they found themselves into a more sinister crime that was way beyond their cup of tea. But they cannot let the cup pass and the will of the evil one be done. The stakes were higher than they thought.

With the help of the whole community, information was gathered, and the blurry picture of events became clearer but not necessarily better. The island gathered all its resources to fight the crime and to keep the city beautiful again.

But life in the island was never the same again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: Oct 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781499098860

Danny Niñal

Danny Niñal loves to tell compelling stories that take you on unforgettable journeys. His vast array of interests for church history, philosophy, law, systematic theology, literature, economics, politics, information technology, music, and the arts are all weaved into the yarn he spins, which creates that fabric of human experiences. He has a bachelor’s degree with a double major in philosophy and English from San Carlos Seminary College in Cebu City, Philippines. He has written a collection of short stories and poems and is also into photography and charcoal drawing. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife, Jia, and only daughter, Danielle Angelika.

Book preview

Charity

MISSING

THE STAKES ARE HIGHER

THAN YOU THINK

DANNY

NIÑAL

I do not judge myself by what I have but by what I am willing to give.

Anonymous

Copyright © 2016 by Danny Niñal.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016916753

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4990-9888-4

                Softcover        978-1-4990-9887-7

                eBook             978-1-4990-9886-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Rev. date: 10/20/2016

Xlibris

0-800-443-678

www.Xlibris.co.nz

743374

CONTENTS

1. Saturday, January 14

2. Saturday, January 14

3. Saturday, January 14

4. Saturday, January 14

5. Sunday, January 15

6. Sunday, January 15

7. Sunday, January 15

8. Sunday, January 15

9. Sunday, January 15

10. Sunday, January 15

11. Sunday, January 15

12. Sunday, January 15

13. Sunday, January 15

14. Sunday, January 15

15. Sunday, January 15

16. Sunday, January 15

17. Monday, January 16

18. Monday, January 16

19. Monday, January 16

20. Monday, January 16

21. Monday, January 16

22. Monday, January 16

23. Monday, January 16

24. Monday, January 16

25. Monday, January 16

26. Monday, January 16

27. Tuesday, 17 January

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

A daughter is kidnapped. A pastor is murdered. A champion athlete is sabotaged—all within forty-eight hours.

The once peaceful Manakitanga Island experiences its darkest weekend.

Frank Dunn and his team find the culprit … or so they think.

To my brother Pat, whose tenacity and positive attitude in life has inspired me to write this book.

Map%20of%20Manakitanga%20Island.jpg

MAP OF MANAKITANGA ISLAND

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)

1

Saturday, January 14

6:15 a.m.

Four senior members of the Manakitanga Golf Club were the first foursome that day. They called themselves The Sunrisers, which was a nod to their reputation of always being the first to tee off every day, especially on weekends like that chilly Saturday morning.

The Manakitanga Golf Course was famous for its challenging winds, but that day, the wind was just right. A couple who had loved the game had decided to live in the area and to design this beautiful golf course. They had found that the north side of the island was the best place to develop this eighteen-hole, par-seventy golf course with over 7.35 kilometers of undulating fairways and sturdy old trees. The back nine hugged the cliffs overlooking Patikirau and Cox Bays. Most residents on the island were members of the only golf course on Manakitanga Island. A bridge connected this small but naturally beautiful island to the mainland, which was the west end of Cliff Road in Raglan, New Zealand.

The Sunrisers had a great front nine. It was a great day for golf except for one person who was not able to fix his slice. Jonathan, a retired lawyer, couldn’t seem to get his swing right, and his bad putting was not helping him either. He hit a couple of pars and some double bogeys but no birdies at all. He was dangerously behind and at risk of paying for everyone else’s lunch that day. After the front nine, he was seven strokes behind the leader, Graeme, and three strokes behind Ken and Allan.

Hey, Jonathan, enjoy the scenery. Relax, Allan said to the sulking lawyer at his side.

Thanks, Allan, Jonathan said, but I just can’t keep my balls from going right.

Come on, Jon. You’re a lawyer. You always want to be right, Ken said. They all laughed. Just kidding, mate.

At our age, we should know that golf, like life, should be fun. Enjoy it! Don’t take yourself too seriously or you’ll be miserable. Life is a game. Enjoy it! Allan said, as if delivering the message at a Sunday service.

Amen, Graeme smiled and said. That is why I just had three birdies in a row.

We’re approaching your favourite hole, Jon. Welcome to hole fourteen, also known as the View. It’s the most beautiful par-3 in the country, so give it your best shot, buddy, Allan said to encourage his friend.

Every local golfer knew that this beautiful but brutal masterpiece demanded an accurate drive. From the tee, located way up the hill, one could see a daunting view of the green below. It was surrounded by volcanic rocks, upon which waves crashed with brutality, leaving white foam around them.

In the history of the island, it was said that sometime in the early nineteenth century, northern warriors had attacked. Even though they had been outnumbered three to one, the residents had repelled the invasion and had defeated the invading warriors. It had been called Kohatu-toto or The Battle of the Red Stones because the volcanic rocks along the shores had been red with blood. These same stones surrounded the View.

It was indeed