DEAD MERCHANDISE is the third entry in the Cheater's Lake, Washington, mystery series. The action spans from San Diego to Seattle with victims and cops battling an expansive criminal network of church members and crooked law enforcement.
In San Diego, Ana Martinez overhears her stepfather's phone call regarding the deaths of six young Mexican girls and plans for delivery of new merchandise. Believing she could become one of the next sex trafficking targets, Ana flees to Cheater's Lake to her cousin, Olivia Ortega, for help.
Olivia shares the taped call with her lover, Homicide Detective Mark Walsh. Working undercover with the FBI task force, Walsh and best friend Greg Hogan, a former San Diego PD detective, join forces to track down the next shipment headed for Canada. It's a race against time when the kidnappers' van overturns and the brave young girls who survived are on the run in Northern California.
Meanwhile, in Seattle, a former gang detective specializes in runaways and employs pimps to recruit young girls for prostitution, as well as shipping them to Canada. He's unaware of a ringer in the group, the streetwise Pearl, who flees with Zoe and Regina, hot-wiring cars from Seattle to San Diego and back. Pearl's determination to find justice nearly costs her life.
Walsh manages to infiltrate the trafficking group but makes an enemy of psychopath Arnie Willetts. As rescues are attempted and the criminals are captured or killed, Willetts vows revenge against Walsh, and Ana ultimately pays the price.
Welcome to the world of Cheater's Lake!