Finding Mercie

the long version

As Hector Lopez runs against the frigid Chicago wind clutching the bleeding girl in his arms, he hopes his ailing heart doesn't fail before he reaches the medical clinic. Even after safely delivering the child and continuing on his way to work, Hector cannot forget the image of the little girl curled up like a rag doll in a small pool of mostly frozen blood. And if he could possibly forget the incident, the Chicago Police Department will not let him--particularly detective Lee Tierney, whose prejudiced eye sees a killer in this Good Samaritan. Now burdened as a murder suspect, Hector witnesses the further unraveling of his life when his teenage son, Raul, announces that his girlfriend is pregnant. Then Hector's cancer suddenly comes out of remission, threatening his life as well as his relationship with Liliana-- the one woman he's loved since being widowed years earlier. And when Raul's itch to find the true killer spirals out of control, Hector finds himself desperately running once again to save an innocent life--and possibly his own. -- Dust jacket.