The Absence of Knowing: A collection of Short Stories by

The Absence of Knowing is a collection of five short stories each with a theme that revolves around the pursuit of an answer. In 'The Hillman Tree', Calvin Hurley, a recently married man, attends the funeral of his wife's uncle in a secluded cemetery far off the beaten trail. Although the cemetery is an eerily uncomfortable place, it does not explain the changes that take place in his wife's behavior in the days following the funeral. Being an investigator for a private investigations firm, Calvin follows his instincts and begins piecing together the clues that will lead him to an answer he doesn't want to know. 'Reason With The Devil' examines the pain that Judson and Ruth Brimmer dealt with on a daily basis since the loss of their fourteen year old daughter, Paige. Paige disappeared on her way home from school one spring afternoon. Even though an arrest was made and a suspect was tried and sent to prison, he refused to answer the one question that burned in Judson and Ruth's heart every minute of every day; what really happened to Paige, and why had no one found her body. While Ruth found comfort at the bottom of a whiskey bottle, Judson made it his life's pursuit to find the answer. That pursuit would take him on a journey unlike any he'd ever experienced. 'The Journey Into Existence' is just what the title suggests. Damon Dinardi always considered his life to be adequate, but deep down inside he longed for so much more. He desperately wanted to be somebody in a world full of nobody's. He wanted his fifteen minutes of fame, but he wanted it to last a lifetime. To his amazement, life thrust him into a situation from which he emerged a hero, with all of the fame and recognition he'd dreamed of. But there were strings attached to this new found fortune and notoriety that left him searching for an answer to the question, why? 'A numbers Game' is the story of Darnell Timpson, an accountant, as was his father, and a man who personified the traits that go along with that profession. He was accurate, to the point, and most of all mild-mannered. He lived by his father's principals. His father taught him that the numbers don't lie. You can hide a lie among them, but it will always be found when the right person comes looking. But when his teenage daughter, Myra, is assaulted by her boyfriend, and the law allows him to get away with it, Darnell quickly finds himself questioning everything. He simply can't let Myra's now ex-boyfriend just walk away. Though equipped with a new found tenacity, and the determination to accomplish anything, he finds himself asking the question, how? In 'An Unsafe Distance', Chester Bayden, the son of multi-millionaire E. J. Bayden, finds he has used all of the favors, and spent all of the money that his father was willing to afford him. After his release from a ninety day stint in the county jail for committing perjury during a trial that could well have sent him to prison for life, Chester finds that he must suddenly become self-reliant. He learns quickly that there are many obstacles on this road, the most notable being the person who invades his sleep each night demanding a confession for a crime he believes he has gotten away with. With none of his father's resources in his corner, he must find out on his own the answer to the question, who?

Author: Mark E. Shaver

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: May 29, 2013

Number of Pages: 250 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: 1484078357

ISBN-13: 9781484078358