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Back Parting Shot Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Dedication
  2. Title Page
  3. Contents
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Forty-Four
  47. Forty-Five
  48. Forty-Six
  49. Forty-Seven
  50. Forty-Eight
  51. Forty-Nine
  52. Fifty
  53. Fifty-One
  54. Fifty-Two
  55. Fifty-Three
  56. Fifty-Four
  57. Fifty-Five
  58. Fifty-Six
  59. Fifty-Seven
  60. Fifty-Eight
  61. Fifty-Nine
  62. Sixty
  63. Sixty-One
  64. Sixty-Two
  65. Sixty-Three
  66. Sixty-Four
  67. Sixty-Five
  68. Copyright

“If he knew you’d been seeing his wife,” Albert said, “he’d have plenty of reason to be mad at you.”

Brian blinked away some tears. “What are you saying?”

Albert hesitated. “Maybe he’s the one. Maybe he’s the one that did that to your back.”

Brian contemplated the possibility. “I don’t know. But what’s the part about Sean mean?”

Albert thought about that. “I don’t know. Maybe this Jessica was cheating on him with another guy with that name. And he thought you were that guy.”

Brian nodded his head slowly. “I guess that’s possible. I could tell that guy from the police.”

“You could,” Albert said. “That’s a good idea. That’s what we’ll have to do.”

“Except,” Brian said, “what if it isn’t?’

“What do you mean?”

“You should have seen her face.”

“Whose face?”

“Jessica. After Ron kicked me, and went back in the house, she looked terrified, you know? Really scared. If the cops come by and see him, he might go crazy. He might hurt her. I mean, she really messed me up, she lied to me, but I don’t want her husband to kill her or anything.”

“The man attacked you,” Albert reminded him. “Even if he didn’t put that tattoo on you, he attacked you.”

“I know, but . . . I mean, I did sleep with his wife. Like, if I was in his shoes, I might have lost it and done the same thing.”

“That’s no excuse,” Albert said. “But maybe . . .”

“Maybe what?” Brian asked.

“Nothing,” his father said, thinking. After a few seconds, he asked, “Just where does this Ron guy live?”

Nineteen

NINETEEN

BARRY Duckworth rapped lightly on the door to Craig Pierce’s room. It was already open an inch.

“Craig, it’s Detective Duckworth.”

No response.

He knocked a second time, but no harder. Maybe Craig was asleep. Duckworth wasn’t sure he wanted to wake him.

But this time, a voice. “Yeah, come in.”

Duckworth pushed the door open. Craig, dressed in a dark blue bathrobe, was sitting in an overstuffed pink easy chair with his back to the detective. His mother was right. He’d positioned himself in front of the window with a good view of the street. The chair was a step away from the bed, which was neatly made. The walls were decorated with movie posters. Star Wars, Star Trek. There was a small flat-screen TV on top of the dresser, turned off. Next to it, a cardboard shipping parcel, opened, bubble wrap spilling out of it. There was a collection of superhero action figures on a nearby shelf, and Duckworth wondered if Craig had ordered some new ones.

Duckworth could see, even though Craig had his back to him, that the man had a laptop in front of him.

“Hey, Craig,” he said.