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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 blood spread out from his head in a semicircle, staining the white ground.

“Is he dead?” Hall asked.

“He better not be,” Cormack said in a cold tone, cursing himself for being careless. “We need information. I’m not gonna be happy if he’s dead.”

Cormack moved forward, slowly. The knife had fallen inches from the man’s hand, and he grabbed it and threw it into the marsh. He rolled the man over. There was snow in his mouth and nostrils, and Cormack cleared them. He bent down low and after a moment he could tell that Suarez was still breathing. He looked up at Cicero and nodded.

Cicero nodded back. “Good. Let’s get him up and move him into the truck.”

Hall stuck his gun back into his pocket and bent down. He took one arm and Cicero took the other and the two of them lifted the man up. They carried him down the path, his feet dragging in the snow, his head hanging down. Blood continued to drip, leaving a trail in the snow.

They got back to the white service van and opened the back door. Suarez was still limp as Cicero and Hall lifted him inside. Hall got in behind him and used duct tape to bind his hands and feet. Cormack closed the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. Cicero slid into the passenger’s seat.

Cormack started the engine and eased the van out of the parking spot. He pulled around and out toward the street. As the van neared the exit, he looked over and saw the old women with her dog standing near the park’s entrance. Both she and the dog were staring at the van. The dog’s gaze was disinterested, but the woman’s mouth was gaping, and Cormack realized that she must have seen them carrying the man’s body out of the park and putting him in the back. She was only twenty or thirty yards from where the van had been parked, and it would have been difficult for her to miss the commotion.

Cormack looked over at Cicero; he was staring at the woman as well. “Wait,” Cicero said.

“No, there’s no time.”

“She saw us.”

“Yeah, probably,” Cormack conceded. “But we’re too close to the street. If we kill her, someone else will see.” He could see Cicero wrestling with the risks and probabilities. “She’s from Eastie. She knows better than to talk to the cops anyway.”

Cicero stared at the woman for another moment, perhaps trying to send a message to her. Then he turned his head and looked out the windshield toward the street. “It’s a risk either way,” he said. “It’s your call.”

Cormack stepped on the accelerator and eased the van onto Bennington Street.

THIRTY-SIX

Monday, February 4