A CAUSE TO KILL FOR
a novel by
Eric Jackson
SYNOPSIS:
When the United States discovers oil deposits off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, the U.S. President and Congress move to grant statehood to the island, a U.S. possession since 1898. During a plebiscite to choose between statehood, free association or independence, leftist terrorists kidnap the First Lady of Puerto Rico to force Puerto Rico’s governor to cancel the vote, thus jeopardizing the national interests of the United States. Powerful political interests brutally clash with common human instincts, as Puerto Ricans decide their political future.
Elison Cruz is the current governor of Puerto Rico and the top leader of the pro-statehood forces. Rigonaldo Pastrana is the fugitive comandante of September Twenty-third, a separatist organization committed to stopping Cruz from bringing statehood to Puerto Rico.
In a campaign of terror, September Twenty-third attempts to assassinate Governor Cruz. When the attempt fails, they kidnap his wife, First Lady Ana Mara Cruz, and threaten to kill her if the governor doesn’t cancel the plebiscite.
In the Puerto Rican Senate, the terrorists have found a voice in Senator Orlando Tonos, an outspoken advocate of independence who has called for a boycott of the plebiscite. He has put himself at odds with the moderate leadership of the Independence Party, which is eagerly supporting the historic vote. Tonos calls Rigonaldo a patriot and refuses to condemn the kidnapping of Ana Mara Cruz.
William Montana, the Assistant Director in Charge of the F.B.I. in Puerto Rico, has a crisis on his hands: he must arrest Rigonaldo Pastrana and rescue the First Lady of Puerto Rico. Its not an easy task. An insider is cooperating with the terrorists, he fears. Who can he or she be? A bomb explodes on a crowded street in Old San Juan. September Twenty-third has set a deadline. They are running out of time. Rigonaldo will kill the First Lady if his demands are not met. Montana has to act. In a bold attempt to pressure Rigonaldo to release the First Lady, Montana orchestrates a kidnapping of his own: Barbara Tonos, the prominent wife of Senator Tonos.
Meanwhile, Karen Perez, an audacious TV reporter, interviews Rigonaldo in his hideout, sees the First Lady, and airs the encounter on prime time TV. The footage of the battered First Lady, shaken, scared, blindfolded and tied to a chair like an animal in captivity, shatters the country.
And so ensues a battle of wills and conflicting ends. A quixotic race against time. As Puerto Ricans prepare to vote on their future, Governor Cruz wonders in terror if he will see his wife alive again.
