Hallowed Ground — Frank Caceres

When human remains are uncovered at a road construction site in Tampa, Florida, the Medical Examiner determines that the cadavers date back to the 1800s, a time when a church graveyard existed there. However, it is quickly realized that three of the bodies are young, female victims who have been buried there for only six months. The city declares the site to be Hallowed Ground, and the intersection-widening project is suspended. The Tampa Police Department begins an investigation into the three murders, and they soon realize that the killings are merely the tip of a dangerous iceberg. At the core of these crimes lies the ugly world of human trafficking. A young woman appears at TPD headquarters and tells homicide detectives that her sister may be one of the victims. When they were in their early teens, two men had approached their parents with an offer to bring the girls to the U.S. from their native Ecuador where they would learn a career and eventually earn enough money to bring the parents to the States. The parents agreed and took the men's money, but the girls were thrown into forced drug addiction and prostitution. One was sent to Maryland, while the other went to Tampa, Florida. The head of this criminal empire and his underboss have been drifting toward a confrontation to determine its leadership and future. The second-in-command is determined to topple the leader; the boss being equally resolved to maintain his position. Both are like-minded-win, or die trying. Information from several sources indicates that the two warring factions will have their showdown in an area known as Fort Lonesome, a ghost town thirty miles southeast of Tampa. Scores of law enforcement officers from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department and the TPD descend on the area hoping to prevent Armageddon. A major war is about to erupt within sight of downtown Tampa. Hallowed Ground is a moving story of struggle between strong, determined personalities: the boss who refuses to relinquish his power; the lieutenant who feels that he is almost indestructible after two failed attempts on his life; the detectives who must confront and defeat their inner demons of self-doubt; and the young woman who must find her sister and punish the men responsible for forcing them into a life of hell and heartache.