BooksBarbecue
Back Whirlwind Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Title Page
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. 85
  87. 86
  88. 87
  89. 88
  90. 89
  91. 90
  92. 91
  93. 92
  94. Also by DAVID KLASS
  95. Copyright Page

He just sits there and watches. Then he reaches out. Grabs my hair. Hauls me up and deposits me on the cot again.

“And your father. I always liked your dad, Jack. We used to sit next to each other at football games. He was very proud of you. A nice dad like that doesn’t deserve to be torched inside his car and pushed off a hundred-foot cliff into the Hudson River. Took us a while to find him. They died. You disappeared. No other suspect. No motive. A real mystery. And here you are. Like to clear it up for us?”

My voice comes out a tinny whisper. “I’m so sorry. They deserved better. I don’t know what else to say.”

“Then let’s talk about P.J.,” Chief Parker suggests.

“Is she dead, too?” I gasp.

He leans forward. “Are you confessing?”

“No, I don’t know anything.”

“What were you doing outside her house tonight?”

“Coming to see her. I thought she might be home.”

Chief Parker studies my face. “Her father says you were hiding in the shadows.”

“I hadn’t seen her in months. I was trying to decide whether it was a good idea to come back. What happened to her? Is she dead? Hurt? Missing? Please tell me.”

“So you don’t have any answers?” the chief asks.

“No. None.”

“What about your parents? Any answers there?”

“None that you would believe, sir.”

“Try me. You were a good kid once.”

“Still am. But there’s nothing I can tell you.”

He stands. I’m still sitting. Never realized how big he really is. Towers over me. He’s winding something around his right hand. Looks like a dark towel.

“Twenty-three years I’ve been a cop and you can count the number of times I got rough with a prisoner on the fingers of one hand.” As if to demonstrate his point, he holds up his right hand and folds down fingers one by one. “But sometimes you have to do things you find repugnant.”

His right hand is now a fist, big as a cantaloupe, the knuckles cushioned by a dark wrapping. “Don’t make me hit you,” he says. “Talk. What happened to your dad?”

“I don’t know, sir. I wasn’t around to see—”

His fist slams into my stomach. I gasp and sink to my knees. He hauls me up by my hair.

“Your ma was a nice lady. Who cut her up and torched your house?”

“The Dark Army.”

“What?”

“Mutants, cyborgs, and chimeras from the future.”

He squints at me, red-faced with rage. Another punch. Right in the testicles. I fall over on my back and writhe on the floor. Tears of pain faucet down my cheeks.