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Back Blood in the Water Save as PDF
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

“Move,” the man said, and he and the other three headed for the staircase. The Asian stood behind Cookie, using him as a shield. “Cormack O’Connell!” he called up the stairs. With his accent it came out garbled, but Cookie had no doubt what he was saying. “I have your friend! I will kill him if you do not come down.” Cookie had a good sense that the man was going to kill him in any event, but he wasn’t in a very good position to say anything. “Come down, we can talk!”

The door at the top of the stairs swung open and the three men at the bottom of the stairs raised their guns, looking for something to shoot at. They moved in closer, their eyes straining. The Asian man kept Cookie in front of him.

Shots rang out again from the top of the stairs, and one of the three men went down. The other two started firing blindly, but there was still no visible human target. Another shot fired down, and one of the remaining men was hit. He stumbled back against the hallway’s threshold, dropping his gun. Cookie thought it was a minor gunshot wound to the shoulder, but after a moment the man began grasping at his chest, his eyes going wild, and he began to choke. A mouthful of blood came up and landed with a loud splat near the Cookie’s foot. The wounded man started reeling, his arms pinwheeling as he lurched out toward the bar, as though he’d be all right if he could make it out of the building. He managed only a few brief steps before he lost his balance and started to fall. His arms reached out, trying to grasp anything to keep upright. He hit a barstool and fell hard, his hand colliding with the top of the bar as he tried in vain to steady himself. His hand knocked against one of the creosote candles, turning it over.

Cookie had not finished cleaning, and there must have been some alcohol on the bar’s surface, because the flame from the candle spread quickly across the top. The fire gathered and grew and advanced along the bar with alarming speed.

The Asian kept his knife in Cookie’s ribs, crouching down, still using him as a shield. Cookie sensed some hesitation in his tormenter as he looked up at the top of the stairs. And then the indecision was gone. “We go!” he shouted to the last man remaining. “You die here, O’Connell!” he screamed at the empty landing at the top of the staircase.