Chapters (82)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- Praise for Blood in the Water
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
In one swift, clean motion, Diamond swung her fist hard into his soft belly, dropping him to the floor. He lay there, squirming in pain, moaning. She shot a look at the young man, and he took a step back and held his hands up. “Asshole!” she said.
She turned and walked toward the door.
Daisy Mae peered over the bar at the suit lying on the floor. He was still writhing, animal noises coming from his mouth. He rolled over, and she could see that he was still grasping the bills in his fist. He looked up at her in confusion. “But I got cash,” he moaned, in a desperately wronged voice.
Daisy Mae almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
TWENTY-ONE
Cicero Andolini walked through the hospital corridor with his head held high, his shoulders pulled back, and his hand in his pocket grasping his switchblade. There were cops everywhere. He supposed that shouldn’t be a surprise; the fire at the Mariner was the lead story on every local news program, and it was the story that caught the attention of politicians. When politicians get antsy, cops have to look busy.
He recognized several of the cops, and their posture stiffened as they saw him approach the room. One even stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“Detective Paley,” Cicero said with a cold smile. “It’s good to see you, I’m sure.” He held out his hand. The cop just stared at him. He was at least six inches taller that Cicero, but Cicero had never been intimidated by height.
“No?” Cicero said, letting his hand slip back into his pocket and onto the blade. “OK.” He stepped to the side to get around the giant cop, but the bigger man cut him off.
“Get the fuck out of here, scumbag,” Paley growled.
Cicero stared straight into Paley’s eyes. “You need to work on your manners, Detective. I’m here to visit a friend.”
“Not today. This is an investigation. You need to leave.”
“An investigation? Led by you? I’m sure that will go well. You already decided who you want to go down?”
Paley reached out and grabbed Cicero by the lapel of his expensive overcoat. “You midget wop!” he yelled. It looked like the big man was about to hit him, but Cicero kept his hands at his sides. Two other cops grabbed Paley and pulled him away.
“He’s not worth it,” one of them said. He was young and plain faced. Cicero didn’t recognize him. He looked at Cicero. “You should go. He still blames you for his cousin’s murder.”
“You mean Sean Paley? It wasn’t my till he was skimming from.”
“I’ll fucking kill you!” Paley hollered at Cicero, still struggling to get free.
“Maybe not. You need to leave anyway,” the younger officer said firmly.
“Am I under arrest?” Cicero asked.
The officer shook his head. “No.”
“Is Cormack O’Connell under arrest?”