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Back We Were Killers Once Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty–one
  25. Twenty–two
  26. Twenty–three
  27. Twenty–four
  28. Twenty–five
  29. Twenty–six
  30. Twenty–seven
  31. Twenty–eight
  32. Twenty–nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty–one
  35. Thirty–two
  36. Thirty–three
  37. Thirty–four
  38. Thirty–five
  39. Thirty–six
  40. Thirty–seven
  41. Thirty–eight
  42. Thirty–nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty–one
  45. Forty–two
  46. Forty–three
  47. Forty–four
  48. Forty–five
  49. Forty–six
  50. Forty–seven
  51. Forty–eight
  52. Forty–nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty–one
  55. Fifty–two
  56. Fifty–three
  57. Fifty–four
  58. Fifty–five
  59. Fifty–six
  60. Fifty–seven
  61. Author’s Note
  62. Acknowledgments
  63. Also by Becky Masterman
  64. About the Author
  65. Newsletter Sign-up

He drove two streets beyond his destination, turned left, and parked the Beetle on the side of the road in one of the undeveloped lots. A cop drove by on Golder Ranch, possibly looking for signs of whoever had burglarized the first two homes, but didn’t even turn his head. Beaufort smiled, thinking, Who would suspect a lime green Beetle? He grabbed his backpack, pretty empty right now, from the passenger’s seat and drew it over one shoulder. Then he marked the time on his watch to see how long it would take him to walk quickly but not run, which would draw attention to himself from any passing vehicle. In just one minute he had walked across the street and into the area of cacti and ravines where he had first walked with Achilles. This time, though, instead of keeping to the high ground, he entered a deep arroyo that ran fairly parallel to the yard lines of the neighboring houses and hid him from sight.

In another three minutes he had climbed up out of the arroyo and walked the ten or so paces to the low wall that separated the DiForenza house from the wildness of the desert. He stepped up onto the concrete block at the top of the wall and boosted himself over the fence attached to it, glad as always that he had kept in shape. The telescope on the pad nearer to the fence, with its protective cover, provided a good shield so he could glance around to make sure no one saw him. A hound barked in the yard next door, but otherwise the neighborhood was quiet. Everyone minding their own business, not staring out of windows.

He checked his watch again. It had taken just six minutes from the car to here. He had to keep that in mind if he needed to make a sudden getaway, if someone spotted him. Once he was inside the house he should have plenty of time, as nobody was going to be coming home. He stepped carefully over the gravel, noting that he didn’t make any prints among the larger stones. He avoided an area of smaller gravel where that would be the case.

When he got to the back door he drew from the backpack a couple of tools he’d learned to use while in prison. The bolt lock gave him some trouble. He was rustier than he thought, and considered that he should have practiced on one of Gloria’s doors. Luckily, the second lock, a spring, hadn’t been engaged.