BooksBarbecue
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

Cookie looked at Buddy. He was all right, he decided after a moment. Buddy had his faults, no doubt. Like most young men he was a little too loud and a little too brash, and it was clear that he knew he was good looking. Vanity could be a dangerous vice, but it was a common sin. Even with his faults, though, it seemed as though Buddy had a decent work ethic, and that impressed Cookie. “Cormack’s here,” Cookie said quietly. “But it doesn’t look like there’s any work tonight.”

“OK. Thanks.” Buddy threw a ten on the bar. “Keep it, Cookie,” he said. “Let’s bail,” he said to Nate.

Cookie watched the two of them amble across the barroom and out the door. A shiver ran through the entire place as they pushed out into the cold and an icy breeze blew in. Cookie supposed that Nate could be forgiven for wanting something better for himself; working the docks was a hard life, and during the winter months it was brutal and dangerous. It wasn’t unreasonable for him to try to make a few bucks on the side, even if it wasn’t strictly legal work. Still, he thought, there was something about the lad that didn’t sit right with him. Cookie supposed it was not his concern. He kept out of everyone’s business along the shore. That’s how he’d survived for so long.

He glanced around the bar and saw that the only ones left were the Greeks in the far corner. It looked as though they were losing steam, and Cookie was guessing it would only be a half hour or so before he could lock up. Cormack might want him to stay later, but considering how slow the night had been, he would more likely tell him to head home. Cookie hoped so; the Bruins were playing the Canadiens, and he planned to catch the replay in the warmth of his shabby little apartment a few blocks away. A quiet life was all he’d ever wanted, and he had it now. He reflected on how lucky he was as he started to ring out the register.

Nate was pissed. He’d hoped that the work for Cormack would be lucrative enough to pay for a decent night out. “This is bullshit,” he said under his breath as he and Buddy walked along the shore.

“There’ll be other jobs,” Buddy said. “As long as you don’t piss people off.”

“As long as I don’t piss people off? What about when people piss me off? Why is it that I’m always the one who’s gotta hold his tongue? That’s bullshit.”

“We’re low men on the totem pole, but it won’t always be that way, trust me.”

Nate Chaplain wasn’t so sure. It sure as hell felt like it would always be that way.