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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

It was even colder today than it had been the days before, and the steam came off the harbor in thick white plumes. Toby wondered whether the cold would ever loosen its grip and whether the harbor would ever return to normal. Maybe the cold was so severe that the water would never come to life again. That was the way it felt to him.

The phone rang, and he looked at it for a moment before he answered.

“Union office,” he said in his usual, flat tone.

“It’s me.” Cormack’s voice came through the phone line as though everything was normal.

“I thought it would be,” Toby said.

“You heard.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, I heard. You OK?”

“I’ve had better mornings,” Cormack said.

“Anything I can do?”

“Yeah, you can make sure everything there gets taken care of. I have other matters I have to attend to for a bit.”

“I understand,” Toby said.

“You tell everyone that when it comes to the traffic on the harbor, you speak for me, you got it?”

“Yeah, I got it Cormack.”

“Don’t take any shit from anyone. People may think that I’m not in control. They may look at you as being too soft because…” Cormack paused. He was the only person who seemed to be able to treat Toby as though he was a whole person.

“I understand,” Toby said, letting Cormack off the hook.

“You’re not soft, Toby. I know that. Make sure other people know it, too. That’s all I’m saying.”

The steam on the water seemed to have gotten thicker. Toby wasn’t sure he could even see the water’s surface anymore. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he let the silence stretch out.

“Toby, there’s one other thing I need you to do. It’s about today’s schedule.” Cormack said.

“What is it?”

“I need you to reassign Nate Chaplain and Buddy Cavanaugh.”

“They’re supposed to be on the Greek freighter, right?”

“That’s right. I have something else for them to do.”

“OK, I can arrange that.”

“Good. And Toby?”

“Yeah?”

“Keep this off the books. Understand?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

The line went dead, and Toby put the phone back in its cradle. He looked out at the harbor again. A Down-easter was working the shore, pulling nets up and stripping them of any cod unlucky enough to have strayed into their reach. It didn’t look like he was having much success. Toby wasn’t surprised. After all, what could possibly live in water that cold?