False Witness
Praise for
False Witness
and other novels by Randy Singer
“In this gripping, obsessively readable legal thriller, Singer proves himself to be the Christian John Grisham.”
Publishers Weekly
“Great suspense; gritty, believable action . . . make this entry Singer's best yet.”
Booklist
starred review
“
False Witness
is an engrossing and challenging read. . . . Part detective story, part legal thrillerâI couldn't put it down!”
Shaunti Feldhahn
Bestselling author, speaker, and nationally syndicated columnist
“Get ready to wrestle with larger themes of truth, justice, and courage.”
Crosswalk.com
on
Fatal Convictions
“A solid, well-crafted legal thriller.”
Booklist
on
Fatal Convictions
“A book that will entertain readers and make them thinkâwhat more can one ask?”
Publishers Weekly
on
The Justice Game
“Singer artfully crafts a novel that is the perfect mix of faith and suspense. . . . [
The Justice Game
is] fast-paced from the start to the surprising conclusion.”
Romantic Times
“At the center of the heart-pounding action are the moral dilemmas that have become Singer's stock-in-trade. . . . An exciting thriller.”
Booklist
on
By Reason of Insanity
“Readers will be left on the edge of their seats by Singer's latest suspense-filled thriller.”
Christian Retailing
on
By Reason of Insanity
“Singer hooks readers from the opening courtroom scene of this tasty thriller, then spurs them through a fast trot across a story line that just keeps delivering.”
Publishers Weekly
on
By Reason of Insanity
“[A] legal thriller that matches up easily with the best of Grisham.”
Christian Fiction Review
on
Irreparable Harm
“Singer hits pay dirt again with this taut, intelligent thriller. . . . [
Dying Declaration
] is a groundbreaking book for the Christian market, with well-drawn characters . . . and ingenious plotting.”
Publishers Weekly
“
Directed Verdict
is a well-crafted courtroom drama with strong characters, surprising twists, and a compelling theme.”
Randy Alcorn
bestselling author of
Safely Home
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False Witness
Copyright © 2007, 2011 by Randy Singer. All rights reserved.
First printing by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., in 2011.
Previously published as
False Witness
by WaterBrook Press under ISBN 978-1-4000-7334-4.
Cover photo taken by Stephen Vosloo. Copyright © by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
Author photo copyright © 2008 by Don Monteaux. All rights reserved.
Designed by Dean H. Renninger
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard St., Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com.
Some Scripture quotations or paraphrases are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Some Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible
, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Singer, Randy (Randy D.)
False witness / Randy Singer.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4143-3569-8 (sc)
I. Title.
PS3619.I5725F35 2011
813Í´.6âdc22 2010051598
Author's Note
People often ask me, “Where do you get the ideas for your books?”
This one came at a funeral.
The deceased was David O'Malley, a good friend and former client. His wife had asked me to give the eulogy. I talked about David's generosity, his big heart. He was always inviting someone to live at his house until they could get back on their feet. He ran a used-car lot and hired people down on their luck. David believed in second chances.
And he was a character. He had this larger-than-life personality that made people laugh. He sang in a gospel quartet. Everybody had a David O'Malley story. Heads nodded as I shared mine.
David's pastor followed me in the pulpit. He spoke about a man named Thomas Kelly. The man was a scoundrel. Involved in organized crime. He turned on everyone he knew.
Jaws dropped and the mourners stared in disbelief at this pastor. The man had clearly lost his mind!
“You don't think you know Thomas Kelly, but you do,” the pastor insisted. “David O'Malley
was
Thomas Kelly before he went into the witness protection program. Before he came to the Lord.”
Prior to that moment, the only people who knew about David's past were the government, his family, myself, and his pastor. The men he had testified against had died in prison. His wife had obtained the government's permission to reveal his past.
There was utter silence as the pastor concluded with a line I will never forget.
“The government can give you a new identity,” he said. “But only Christ can change your life.”
That would make a good book,
I thought.
I hope I was right.
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies perishes.
Proverbs 19:9
Table of Contents
A Note about the Church in India
Prologue
Thursday, August 5
Las Vegas
If anything happened to this kid, the professor would never forgive himself. The young man was more than just a brilliant protégé; he was like a son. He reminded Professor Kumari so much of himself at that age. Too much, sometimes. Except that Rajat was brasher, bolder than Kumari had ever been.
Rajat Singh possessed his mentor's gift for complex mathematical theories, but he had something more. At heart, Rajat was a businessman. A risk taker. A part of India's new generation of entrepreneurs. He had grown restless as a teaching assistant at the university; Kumari could see that. Rajat stayed out of respect for the professor.
When Professor Kumari told his protégé about the Abacus Algorithm, the young man's eyes burned with entrepreneurial fire. To Rajat, it was more than a math formula. It became an opportunity to piece together a historic agreement that might help millions of other Dalits, India's caste of untouchables, achieve the same kind of success Rajat had obtained. Though discrimination against the Dalits had been outlawed, the vestiges of the caste system were everywhere. Professor Kumari preached patience, but Rajat would have none of it. He proposed a plan with such zeal and attention to detail that the professor couldn't say no.
This meeting was the culmination of Rajat's plan.
Kumari said a prayer, his head bowed as he sat in the driver's seat of the Ford Escape he had rented. He had a bad feeling about this meeting, something he just couldn't shake. He had insisted on elaborate security precautions to protect the algorithm.
“You worry too much, grasshopper,” Rajat said from the passenger seat, trying hard to inject a worry-free tone into his voice. Kumari had once asked Rajat about the grasshopper reference; it was an allusion, as best Kumari could remember, to some old American movie or television show, the type of thing that didn't interest the professor in the least.