Wake the Devil Read Online Free PDF Page A

carrying.
    “Bagels,” she said, sniffing the air.
    “Naturally,” Jack said.
    “And cream cheese?”
    Jack held up the second bag.
    “With chives?”
    “Only a barbarian would show up without them. I also have a walnut and lox spread.”
    Nelda pulled her lab coat open and lay down across a long white table, throwing her arms wide. “Take me,” she said. Then, raising her head, she asked Beth, “You don’t mind, do you?”
    Beth made a dismissive gesture with her right hand. “He’s yours,” she said, and headed toward a cabinet against the wall where she retrieved several plates, knives, and a handful of paper napkins.
    “You think I’m that easy?” Jack said.
    “Yes,” both women answered at the same time.
    Feigning indignation, Jack turned to Ben Furman for support. Furman looked up from the microscope he’d been peering into and nodded helpfully.
    “Hmph,” Jack said, plunking himself onto a high-top stool.
    “It’s illegal to bribe the police, you know,” Nelda said, snatching a cinnamon-raisin bagel from the bag Jack was carrying.
    “Absolutely,” Beth said.
    “You think this will buy you some influence around here?” Ben Furman asked, shoving himself back from the table. He then rolled his chair down the length of the room until he reached them.
    “Of course not,” Beth said, handing him a plate.
    “Actually we were expecting you,” Nelda said. “Chief Ritson called to let us know you were on the way. I understand we’ve got the Sandman again.”
    “You’re familiar with him?” Jack asked.
    “Six years ago, he took out a gas station with a bomb trying to kill an informant in the witness protection program. The bomb was set off from the pawn broker next door and configured to blow outward. It left the shop intact.”
    “Did he get the informant?” Beth asked.
    “No, but the car he was working on did when the lift collapsed. The man’s clever as hell and ruthless beyond belief. I’ve been dying for another crack at him. We busted our butts on that case and came up with nothing.”
    “Tell me about the ruthless part,” Beth said.
    “The gentleman who owned the pawn shop had this fancy security system you activate with a thumbprint. After the explosion, Teddy Larson went next door to see if maybe he had seen or heard anything. He found the guy unconscious in a closet, minus his thumb.”
    A shudder went up Beth’s spine. She put her bagel back down.
    *
    Rachel Lawrence stared out the window at the rain. She was sitting in her living room drinking straight gin. Will Landry was next to her, feeling awkward and ill at ease as the tears rolled down her face. Normally the most resolute of people, unshakable Rachel was comingapart. She knew it. The bottle was about half full. He watched her take another swallow. Will didn’t think getting drunk was a half bad idea. He only wished he could find a way to comfort her. It was Will, not Rachel, who had called George’s parents to break the news of his death.
    Thirty-four-year-old Rachel was tall and slender. Her features were pleasant but unremarkable with a nose that was a little too pointed, and a mouth that was not full enough. Her brown hair came just to her shoulders. As a rule, she wore only a little makeup. According to her mother, her eyes were her best feature, blue and shining with intelligence. At the moment, they were swollen and puffy from all the crying.
    A former army doctor with shrapnel in both legs, Willis Landry still walked with a limp from an RPG that had hit his vehicle during Desert Storm II. He was forty-five now, tall, gaunt, gray-haired, and thought he had witnessed all the misery one human being had a right to see years earlier. He also took it on himself to notify the staff and their remaining partner, Stuart Patterson, of the tragedy. Everyone was devastated. Patterson, the practice’s manager, said he’d cover for them as long as necessary.
    A uniformed cop was there when Will had arrived. He stepped