The Shepherd Read Online Free PDF Page A

looked deep into her eyes. “Coffee and steak.”
    She scribbled on her notepad. “How would you like that cooked?”
    “Bloody.”
    “Baked potato, salad?”
    “Just steak and caffeine, thanks.”
    He turned his attention toward the television set mounted on the wall. Something caught his eye, and he asked the waitress to turn up the volume.
    “In an incident that has shocked the entire state of Colorado, three men, including two State Troopers, were brutally slain last night. A fourth victim is currently being treated for a gun shot wound to the head but is expected to make a full recovery.”
    He leaned forward in his seat. Full recovery?
    An image of a State Trooper at a podium replaced that of the anchorman. The subtitle read, Major Christian Steinhoff, Colorado State Patrol. He committed the name to memory. The perspiring policeman said, “Emily Morgan is expected to make a full recovery and has now regained consciousness. We will issue more details later, but according to Mrs. Morgan, an assailant matching the description of Francis Ackerman Jr. forced her husband to choose between her life and that of their daughter. Based on the findings of the preliminary investigation, we believe that the quick thinking of Trooper Jim Morgan saved his wife.”
    The cop on the screen drank from a glass of water and continued. “Trooper Morgan and his partner, Trooper Tom Delaine, responded to a call a few weeks ago in which a young woman had been shot in the head. They had entered the residence in response to a domestic disturbance and found the woman lying in a pool of her own blood. They had thought she was dead, but upon further examination, she was found to be alive. The young woman had been shot in the head at an angle with a .22 caliber pistol, and the bullet had deflected off her skull. The impact knocked her unconscious but left her with a survivable wound.
    “The wound to Emily Morgan’s head is almost identical to the wound sustained by the woman in the previous case. Although the previous incident involved a lower caliber weapon, Trooper Morgan had gone to the shooting range on the day of the incident and still had his weapon loaded with a cheaper brand of ammo containing a lower grade of gunpowder. Although we can’t know for sure, we believe that Trooper Morgan successfully attempted to recreate the previous incident in order to save both his wife and daughter. Although Mrs. Morgan did lose pieces of her skull and ear and is being treated for swelling around the brain, she is expected to make a full recovery and is currently under our protection.”
    He reclined back. I’ll be damned.
    “Congratulations, Jim,” he said aloud. “Guess we’ll have to call that one a tie.”
    He noticed that the older man sitting next to him at the counter held a spoonful of mashed potatoes halfway between his mouth and plate. He turned to find the man staring at him. A half-read newspaper rested on the counter in front of the older man, which undoubtedly contained a picture of the killer named Francis Ackerman Jr. The man trembled, and small chunks of mashed potatoes fell into his lap. The man didn’t seem to notice.
    Ackerman sighed and shook his head. My work is never done. “Do you wanna play a game?” he said.

CHAPTER 2
    Marcus Williams cocked his head to the side, cracking his neck and getting into fight mode. “Listen,” he said. “I’m sorry if she prefers the company of someone who can speak to her with actual words instead of a series of grunts.”
    “Don’t get smart with me, boy,” the cowboy said, nostrils flaring like a bull about to charge.
    “You’re right. I should get dumb with you. That way, we’re on the same wavelength.”
    He watched two men join the cowboy, Glenn, at one end of the alley, and he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He reached out and pulled Maggie behind him. Morons always travel in packs. The alley was long and narrow with no windows or doors to provide a means of