Back Season of Fear Save as PDF
Chapters (67)
  1. Contents
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART ONETHE EXTREMES
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. PART TWOSOMETHING BAD
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. PART THREECHAYLA
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. PART FOURHIT AND RUN
  52. 44
  53. 45
  54. 46
  55. 47
  56. 48
  57. 49
  58. 50
  59. 51
  60. 52
  61. 53
  62. 54
  63. 55
  64. 56
  65. 57
  66. EPILOGUE
  67. AUTHOR’S NOTE

‘Is there something hinky about the Labor Day murders?’ Walter asked. ‘Something the FBI missed?’

Bush shrugged. ‘Hard to say. Rufus has it in his head that Diane’s son was involved. If he was, and she knew, that’s huge. Back then, I wanted everyone focused on Chuck Warren and Ham Brock, because we needed to crush Chuck in the polls. Now? It wouldn’t hurt to have some ugly rumors about Diane and Drew.’

‘Sounds risky to me,’ Walter said. ‘Her son killed himself. We don’t need to generate any more sympathy for her.’

‘Common Way’s got someone looking into this, too,’ Bush added. ‘His name’s Cab Bolton. He’s a Naples cop. Caprice went around me and hired him herself.’

‘Why would she do that?’

‘Supposedly, there are threats against Diane, and he’s trying to track down the source. Of course, Caprice is smart. She may be trying to make sure there are no unexploded bombs in Diane’s past. Like Drew.’

Walter jabbed a finger at Curtis Ritchie. ‘If there are any bombs like that, it’s your job to find them, so we can blow them up ourselves.’

‘Hey, I’m on it,’ Ritchie assured him. ‘I’ve been keeping an eye on one of their researchers. Peach Piper. She’s been digging into whatever happened to Justin, too.’

‘Piper? As in Lyle’s sister?’

‘That’s her. I was following her earlier today, and she led me to somebody interesting. She’s been tracking a drug dealer named Frank Macy. Smooth character but a real whack job. He got out of prison on a manslaughter gig earlier this year.’

Walter shrugged. ‘Macy. Is that name supposed to mean something to me?’

Bush leaned across the seat and grinned. ‘I looked him up. F rank Macy sold drugs to Diane’s son Drew ten years ago. Small world, huh? As a little bonus, guess who his lawyer was? Ramona Cortes.’

That was the first thing Walter had heard in days that put him in a better mood. ‘I like it,’ he said. ‘I like it a lot.’

Ritchie finished the last of his shrimp. ‘Yeah, we figured you would. Macy could be our missing link to all sorts of shit. With any luck, he’ll beat a path right back to Diane and Ramona. Maybe we can take down both of those bitches.’

24

‘Do you always carry a gun?’ Peach asked.

Annalie punched the pause button on the remote control. The playback on the sixty-inch television in the Common Way conference room froze, leaving the Governor with his mouth open in front of the electricians at the union convention. It was Tuesday morning, and the two of them were reviewing hours of video footage gathered at campaign events, hunting for gaffes that could be used in campaign ads.