BooksBarbecue
Back No Going Back: a Novel Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Part 1
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. Part 2
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. Part 3
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. Part 4
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. Part 5
  60. 53
  61. 54
  62. 55
  63. 56
  64. 57
  65. 58
  66. Part 6
  67. 59
  68. 60
  69. 61
  70. 62
  71. 63
  72. 64
  73. 65
  74. 66
  75. 67
  76. 68
  77. 69
  78. 70
  79. 71
  80. 72
  81. Acknowledgments
  82. About the Author
  83. Also by Sheena Kamal
  84. About the Publisher

There must have been a call placed from Ito to Lee after Brazuca left his IHIT interview because Lee stops by with some Korean barbecue on his way home from work. Ito worked homicides for IHIT, and Lee worked homicides for the city of Vancouver. Maybe they’re friends, Brazuca thinks, but he doesn’t care enough to ask. Lee eats most of the barbecue while filling Brazuca in on the developments of the case. There aren’t any, so Lee just talks at him while throwing him perceptive looks over his food.

The way Lee eats everything in sight without question reminds him of Nora. Though she regularly forgot mealtime unless you reminded her, she had a big appetite for a woman her size and always ate everything on her plate. As though she knew something no one else did about a famine just around the corner. He thinks of her body, the surprising wiry strength of her. With a jolt he realizes that, again, he’s just put her in the past, though she hasn’t been found yet.

Lee thwacks him on the shoulder before leaving, a semblance of a manly embrace that he should return but doesn’t.

“I’ll keep you up to date, but you know you can call me anytime, bro,” Lee says. Then he zips his coat, which he hadn’t bothered to remove, and is out the door before Brazuca can respond.

Suddenly he’s tired of it all.

His ulcer and its friends are twisting inside of him. They’re getting to know one another, becoming drunk off his stomach fluids and making little ulcer babies to plague his nights. He can’t take this anymore. What his life has become, he doesn’t know. He thinks of Nate Marlowe.

Bernard Lam had given him an obscene amount of money to work on Clementine’s case, and Brazuca has some savings of his own. The only purchase he’s made since the money cleared was his beautiful telescope. He stands in the middle of his living room, guts churning, and looks at it while he comes to a decision.

When the truck smashed into his MINI, the left side of his head took the brunt of the impact. He heard a door open and had managed to slit one eye, just in time to see Nora hauled out. He couldn’t move, could do nothing to stop it. There was a moment of perfect lucidity that rose past the roaring sound in his ears.

For a split second, he could see clearly.