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Back Deception Cove Save as PDF
Chapters (78)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Prologue
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Thirteen
  20. Fourteen
  21. Fifteen
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Fifty-Seven
  64. Fifty-Eight
  65. Fifty-Nine
  66. Sixty
  67. Sixty-One
  68. Sixty-Two
  69. Sixty-Three
  70. Sixty-Four
  71. Sixty-Five
  72. Sixty-Six
  73. Sixty-Seven
  74. Sixty-Eight
  75. Acknowledgments
  76. Discover More
  77. About the Author
  78. Also by Owen Laukkanen

The island stretched north and east a little farther from the entrance to the pass, but Mason figured he might not ever set foot there. He was only interested in the pass and the boat waiting offshore, fifty yards from the rocks.

The Grady-White was almost as long as Ty Winslow’s troller, but it was sleeker, whiter. It sat streamlined in the water with its twin engines burbling. Mason ducked away as soon as he saw it. He’d seen men aboard, dark jackets clustered by the console and standing guard at the stern, but he didn’t dare stick around long enough to count them. It wouldn’t matter how many Kirby had brought with him, so long as Jess could catch them with their pants down.

Mason backed away into the forest again. Retraced his steps along the north side of the pass until he found the outcrop he was looking for, a piece of rock he and Jess had spied from her cliff. From the outcrop Mason could see up the pass toward where Jess would be set up, but he’d be blocked from Harwood’s sight by the forest behind him. It was a good spot, and it was where he would set up to ambush the deputy.

He looked west toward the face of the cliff, searched the top for any sign of Jess and her rifle. He wondered what she’d done with Lucy, whether she’d kept the dog close. He wondered what Harwood would do if he got hold of the dog again, and he wished he’d brought her to this side of the island instead.

It was too late now.

The noise of the boat’s engines increased. Mason looked again for Jess on the cliff, but he couldn’t see her, and he supposed that was a good thing. He ducked back into the forest and checked and rechecked his shotgun, listened to the boat approach, and waited for his time to act.

Fifty-Five

Fifty-Five

Kirby Harwood squinted up the narrow stretch of water as he idled the boat closer. Searched the shore for any sign of Jess Winslow or Mason Burke. He hadn’t seen them yet, but Harwood knew they had to be out there.

Dale Whitmer came up behind him. Stood beside Harwood at the console. “Tide’s turning, Kirby,” he said, his hand shading his eyes as he searched the pass. “We’re losing our window.”

On Harwood’s other side, Joy shifted and fixed Harwood with those unsettling black eyes. “What are we waiting for, Deputy?”

Harwood didn’t answer right away. They’d set out from Neah Bay at first light, made Dixie Island with plenty of time before slack. It was rough in the strait, a small-craft advisory, but the Grady-White could take it and there wasn’t any other choice.