A Deadly Exchange - Tapa blanda

Former POW Matthew Spencer thinks his days of confinement and torture are over at the end of the Vietnam war. Not so. Years later, when he and his wife, Alexandra, embark on a leisurely cruise on their sailboat, they are caught up in another battle, one that involves illegal drugs. As their sloop sails toward the remote Bahamian Cays, the Spencers are unaware of the deadly white powder concealed inside their yacht's hanging wet locker.Spencer is forty-eight, tired, a reluctant hero. Alex is thirty-five, naïve, an unlikely heroine. They aren't looking for trouble, but then again, they don't have to. They're carrying it with them.A chain of events leaves Matt desperate and alone, while Alex, weak and in shock, is delivered to Raoul, the head of a Columbian drug cartel. U.S. drug agents on a surveillance mission are drawn into the conflict. They agree to deliver Matt to Morgan Cay, Raoul's private Island.Raoul sounds the alarm when he discovers that Alex has bolted. Alex finds Matt savagely beaten and unable to move. The agents, waiting just offshore, must leave at dawn. The clock is ticking for Matt, for Alex, and for the agents.

Sheryl Stafford has published work in Emerald Coast Review, Volumes V, VI, VII; awarded first place, 1994 WFLF Short Story Contest. Her short story was selected as one of top 100 in mainstream/genre category in 1995 Writer?s Digest National Writing Competition; received Honorable Mention, 1999 South Florida National Writer?s Association Short Fiction Contest.