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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

The man in charge seemed startled at first, but then an evil smile crept across his face. He looked back and forth between Maria and Cardozo, and the smile became more malevolent. “It looks as though Christ was right, Padre. We are all sinners, are we not?” He put his gun into his holster and pulled out a large knife. The smile never left his face as he walked to the broad, low alter at the front of the church. “Put her here,” he ordered the soldier who had hold of her. She tried to struggle free, but two other soldiers grabbed her as well, and they dragged her up to the altar—really just a table at the front of the poor church. “Lay her down,” the man in charge ordered.

As the three other men held her down on the table, the officer took his knife and cut off the peasant dress she was wearing, pulling and ripping at it until she was naked on the altar. The others in the congregation all looked away, but the officer nodded to his other men. “Make them watch,” he ordered, and the soldiers raised their guns at those in the church.

“Please, no!” Cardozo begged.

“Tell me where they are!”

“I don’t know, I swear it!”

The man in charge unbuckled his pants. He said to the congregation, “This is what your Jesus will bring you! This is what his priest allows!” Then he looked down at Maria and said, “Now I will have a taste of what the padre has been enjoying!”

Vincente wanted to go to her. He wanted to stop it, but he was scared. And just as he thought he’d summoned the courage to throw himself at the vile man, her eyes caught his as he peered from around the corner in the back room. Her eyes were full of tears and bravery and resignation, and she shook her head ever so slightly to tell him to stay where he was. It was as though she was telling him that it would all be over soon, and that she would be all right.

When it was over, the man in charge gave a satisfied grunt and pulled his pants back up. But it was clear that he was not truly satisfied. Not yet.

He walked behind the altar so that he was looking out at the congregation, Maria lying still and naked like some grotesque sacrifice. “You still will not tell me, Father?”

Cardozo’s head was down now, and he was sobbing. “I do not know, I swear it!”