Blood Shot

Sara Paretsky

Contents ( 88)

SARA PARETSKY’S INTRIGUING WOMAN P.I
V. I. WARSHAWSKI
IS “THE DETECTIVE MANY MYSTERY FANS
HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!”^*

“HER WORK DOES MORE THAN TURN THE GENRE UPSIDE DOWN: her books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart.”

—Newsweek^*

“TENACIOUS, GOOD-NATURED, IDEALISTIC … V. I. Warshawski is a pleasure to see in action.”

—Glamour

“BRASH, BREEZY, AND IN HER OWN SENSE, HIGHLY MORAL, V. I. Warshawski is the best of the new breed of female detectives … a tough female detective working Chicago’s mean streets—a perspective you won’t find anywhere else.”

—Rave Reviews

“A GRIPPING, ENTERTAINING STORY.”

—Publishers Weekly

“PARETSKY JUGGLES WISECRACKS, TENDERNESS AND GRIT IN A STORY THAT RETURNS CHICAGO P.I. V. I. WARSHAWSKI TO HER SOUTHSIDE ROOTS … PARETSKY COULD NOT HAVE WRITTEN THIS ONE BETTER.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“PARETSKY’S NAME ALWAYS MAKES THE TOP OF THE LIST WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE NEW FEMALE OPERATIVES.”

—The New York Times Book Review

“V. I. WARSHAWSKI IS … THE TOP OF THE LINE—ATTRACTIVE, INTELLIGENT, TOUGH AND VULNERABLE.”

—Chicago Tribune

Books by Sara Paretsky

TOTAL RECALL
HARD TIME
GHOST COUNTRY
WINDY CITY BLUES
TUNNEL VISION
GUARDIAN ANGEL
BURN MARKS
BLOOD SHOT
BITTER MEDICINE
KILLING ORDERS
DEADLOCK
INDEMNITY ONLY

Edited by Sara Paretsky

WOMEN ON THE CASE
A WOMAN’S EYE

Published by
Dell Publishing
a division of
Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address: Delacorte Press, New York, New York.

Dell^® is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-307-41811-1

v3.1_r1

For Dominick

Acknowledgments

A writer working on a project that includes much technical material incurs many debts. As with the Bill of Rights, the enumeration of some does not mean that others are not considered equally important.

Judy Freeman and Rennie Heath, environmental specialists with the South Chicago Development Commission, gave freely of their time and expertise on both the geography and the economic issues facing South Chicago. Jeffrey S. Brown, Environmental Manager of Velsicol Corporation, and John Thompson, Executive Director of the Central States Education Center, both provided valuable insights into the corporate and technical problems that might arise in the situation I envisioned. Doctors Sarah Neely and Susan S. Riter were most helpful in diagnosing the problems besetting Louisa Djiak. And Sergeant Michael Black of the Matteson Police Department has been unfailingly helpful throughout V.I.’s career with advice on police procedure, handgun use, and other matters.

Because this is a work of fiction, all companies, persons, chemicals, manufacturing processes, medical side effects, and political or community organizations are totally the creation of my unaided—and unfettered—imagination. While some major corporations are mentioned by name, it is only where their plants form a well-known part of the Chicago landscape—to omit them would mean too much tampering with geography. For the same reason, existing ward boundaries were used, without in any way referring to real politicians who serve the citizens of those wards.