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Chapters (82)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. Praise for Blood in the Water
  81. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  82. Newsletter Sign-up

“No. Here we have the most stringent Supermax medical containment protocols in existence, and the most modern incarceration equipment available. He is halfway through the orientation program, and throughout that, he is monitored constantly. There is a video feed to his cell, so that even when he is asleep, there is at least one guard who can monitor him at all times. There is no way that he could get out of here.”

“Can anyone get in?”

“I’m not sure I understand your question, Special Agent Steele. Why would anyone want to get in?”

They were at his office now, and he led her in. It was neat and organized and the furniture was solid, though not ostentatious. It was an office that any high school principal or university provost would have found completely adequate.

“Vincente Carpio has a dedicated and inspired group of followers, Warden. He’s an enforcer in MS-13’s army. That means you need to consider the possibility that they will attack from the outside in an attempt to get him out of here.”

Stevens waved a hand at her dismissively as he sat behind his desk. “They would have to be crazy to attempt such a thing.” His eyes maintained a confident glint.

“They are crazy,” Steele said. She reached into the satchel she’d brought with her and took out two manila folders. She opened one and put it in front of Stevens. It contained a series of color photographs from the crime scene where Carpio’s most recent victims had been found. Steele pointed to the first picture. “This is from the last crime scene,” she said. “There were eight of them. Their heads were found in another room.”

In the image, the bodies were kneeling, their hands tied together behind their backs, the ropes tied to their ankles so the bodies would stay on their knees, hunched forward but upright nonetheless. The chests and backs were black with dried blood, and the stumps of their necks still looked damp. In the center of four of those stumps, vertebrae gleamed white.

“Jesus Christ,” Stevens whispered.

“Christ had nothing to do with it, I can assure you.” Steele pointed to one of the bodies. “By the time they were found, rigor had set it, so the bodies had to be transported in sacks. They wouldn’t even stay on the coroner’s gurney. We had to have the loved ones identify the clothing so we could match up the heads with the bodies. Even then, it wasn’t easy. Have you ever seen a human head after the blood has been drained from it?”

Stevens shook his head, but didn’t look up.