BooksBarbecue
Back Deception Cove
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

“I wish,” Whitmer said. “I was on my way out to piece out that dog like we planned, figured I wouldn’t need more than the cleaver.”

“Thought those dogs of yours were supposed to be guard dogs.”

“They are. But the guy led them off while that Winslow bitch held the gun on me.”

Harwood rubbed his face. Why’d this have to be so damn difficult when it should have been simple? A little extra cash for a couple of jobs a month, a little rainy-day money, fix the roof on the house and redo the kitchen, maybe pay for some more visits to that fertility doctor who charged so damn much, give Terri-Lee the family she wanted, so maybe she’d stop acting so damn aggrieved all the time.

It was supposed to be easy. Wasn’t nobody supposed to get hurt, not even a damn dog. But Kirby Harwood had seen plenty firsthand how the best-laid plans often turned to shit. He shouldn’t have been surprised that this one was no exception.

“The guy with Jess,” Harwood said. “Midthirties, tall? Look like a hard case?”

“That’s the guy.”

Burke. Who the hell are you, Mason Burke? And why the fuck have you taken such an interest in messing up my little town?

“I’m headed your way,” Harwood said. “Call Cole and Dale, have them meet us. We got to track that bitch down.”

Harwood ended the call. Walked back into the bedroom, where Terri-Lee was reading her book again, some self-help manual, visualize the things you want and they will appear in front of you. Snake-oil bullshit.

“Who was it?” she asked.

“Bryce Whitmer.” Harwood was already crossing to the closet and pulling on his pants. “Had some prowlers lurking around back of his place.”

“So send Dale. He’s Bryce’s brother, for God’s sake.”

Harwood buttoned his shirt, grabbed his Stetson. “Dale’s off tonight. You know how it works.”

His wife sighed, long and expressive. Opened her book again. “They’d damn well better make you sheriff of this county,” she said. “For all the bullshit they throw in our lap.”

Nineteen

Nineteen

Jess drove that Chevy fast, headed west on the state route away from Deception Cove, no idea where she was going. As soon as she’d coaxed Lucy away from the gate, she’d booked it for the truck—the dog hesitating a moment, then loping behind, as if she knew she was being rescued and was damned ready for it.

Before she’d had to debate whether to go back in with the shotgun to get Burke or simply drive off, the man had dropped from the sky and come limping around the side of the truck. Panting for breath and bleeding from somewhere, or a few somewheres.