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Back Blood in the Water
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

“One thing it doesn’t look like they’re up to,” Cicero commented, “is coming after us. No one’s heard a peep. It looks like they’ve got other things on their minds.”

“That’s what makes me worried. If they’re done mucking around with us, it means they’ve got something serious that they’re planning. We’ve got to find them and take them out.”

Cicero nodded. “Just as soon as we figure out where they are. What do you want to do now, Boss?”

“We need to find a way to draw him out,” Cormack answered.

“Easy enough said,” Cicero pointed out. “Who are you gonna use for bait?”

“I’m the only one he’s really interested in,” Cormack said. “I’m the only one he’d stick his head up for.”

Cicero raised his eyebrows. “You sure you wanna do that, Boss? You know that there’s no way we can guarantee your safety. We might be able to get him, but it might be after you’re already dead.”

“I know,” Cormack said. “You got any better plan?”

FIFTY-SEVEN

Monday, February 11

Joshua Brooks was grateful that he wasn’t a religious man. A religious man would fear for his salvation. This wasn’t the first time he had bent the rules or advanced the interests of an individual he knew to be evil. In many ways, that was the role of a defense lawyer. He’d always been able to rationalize it. He was a necessary component of what he regarded as the greatest system of justice in the world. Defense lawyers have the duty to protect their clients, not to judge them. And Brooks knew that police and prosecutors didn’t always play by the rules either. If the system was to be truly fair, defendants needed lawyers on their side who would fight as hard as the prosecutors did. It was, he’d often told himself, a sacred trust he owed to those he represented.

Except that now, he found himself questioning whether he’d bent the rules too far in this case. Vincente Carpio wasn’t just some drug dealer or gang kingpin trying to game the system. He was a psychopath who wanted to kill for the sake of killing—and that was difficult to justify, even for a defense lawyer.

He’d told Javier to meet him at a rest area on the northbound side of Interstate 195. Vincente’s arraignment was only a few days away, and the younger Carpio had made clear that Brooks had to pass one last message on to Javier. Brooks had no idea what the messages meant, but he had little doubt that the information was illicit, and probably put people in danger.

He saw Javier parked in a spot at the far end of the parking lot at the rest area. He pulled alongside and rolled down his window. The cold invaded the car.