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ee5874a
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I have to make a couple of calls, then I want you to help me with something." She sat up, interested. "What?" "Phone numbers. We have to build a phone tree tracing the calls to and from the phones Pike found. We'll trace the calls from phone to phone until we identify someone who can help us find Vahnich. Sound like fun?" "No." "It's like connect the dots. Even you can do it." She gave him the finger. Cole thought she was great."
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Robert Crais |
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f4cb15a
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Pike hung up and immediately walked the girl back to his Jeep. He felt the passing minutes like a race he was losing. Once you engaged the enemy, speed was everything. Speed was life.
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Robert Crais |
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524d4a0
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Miss Stanik? That your name, Candace Stanik?" Her voice was soft, but thin and strained. Pike wasn't listening to her; he listened past her, searching for other occupants. A crisp medicinal smell of ether came from her apartment, telling him that someone had been freebasing. "Yes. He went--" "Let us in now, hon. We can't leave until we come in, so just let us in." Flynn pushed gently on the door until she backed away. Pike shadowed inside, ..
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Robert Crais |
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a58fa4b
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Stepping into the apartment was like entering a furnace. Pike began sweating. They were in a cramped living room. As
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Robert Crais |
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9897806
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The Los Angeles Police Department was surrounding their neighborhood like a gathering thunderstorm. A
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Robert Crais |
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ca7d151
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Furth eased forward, going slow because of the crowd. I stared at the Suburban. Somewhere above, the helicopter's whup-whup-whup matched the beat of my heart. When I was in the Army, it was a comforting sound. The heavy pulse of rotors meant someone was coming to save your life. I
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Robert Crais |
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fc8eedb
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He bent to take her arm, and I saw his shirt was spattered with blood. Streaks and drips of blood marked his shirt with slaughterhouse designs, and more blood speckled his face. I
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Robert Crais |
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dfc50f1
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Lehder was a supplier?" "One of the fellas who popped up when the Cali and Medellin cartels fell. Little operations popped up all over down there, maybe thirty or forty of'm. Some of'm aren't so little anymore." "Was Meesh hooked up with someone named Esteban Barone?" "Sorry. I couldn't tell you." "Barone is out of Ecuador." "All I knew was Lehder." Six years was a long time. Meesh probably started with Lehder, then branched out to Barone a..
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Robert Crais |
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752e685
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I don't think it's safe. What if they're waiting for me?" "Elvis would wave us away." "How does he know?" Pike didn't bother answering. He was already missing the silence."
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Robert Crais |
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f58b7e7
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Pike glanced at Cole and Cole shrugged. "I have everything I need from here to go forward. I can take her back." Larkin squinted at Cole, still tense with irritation. "Was there something here I missed?" Pike said, "He's taking you back to the house. He'll stay with you until I get back." Pike started back to the Lexus, but the girl followed him."
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Robert Crais |
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16594b0
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As he said it, the girl's door opened and Larkin stepped out. She was puffy with sleep, and still wore only the bra and the tiny green thong. She didn't look so wild. Pike touched his lips with a finger. Shh. Larkin blinked sleepily at him, then went into the bathroom. Bud said, "You're killing me, Joe. Jesus, where are you?" "We're good. Why is everyone so upset?" Pike, having fun. "You dropped off the world, is why! You're supposed to tak..
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Robert Crais |
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12c09f2
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Waiting doesn't look like much, but it is something very important. Waiting is passive hunting.
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Robert Crais |
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225439d
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I need you and Dennis on the house. Two men, twenties to thirties, dark hair straight and on the long side, five-eight to five-ten. The shorter guy is probably Latino." "They at your place now?" "No, but they'll be back. They made keys." "Ah. You want'm field dressed?" "Just let me know."
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Robert Crais |
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709d1b9
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Elvis Cole LARKIN CONNER BARKLEY wouldn't talk to him. Cole asked about the property owners and tenants near her loft, but he might as well have spoken in a foreign language. Her lips pulled into a pensive bud, and she stared down the street as if Pike's car had been a shimmering mirage. "I can't believe he left me like this. He dismissed me." Cole said, "The nerve of him. That cad." "Fuck you." "That's the second time you've hinted at sex,..
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Robert Crais |
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e0c5d81
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The girl came out of the kitchen with the pot. She looked confused as she held up the pot, her expression saying what in hell is this? Pike raised a finger, telling her to wait, then checked his watch. It was now thirteen minutes before eight.
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Robert Crais |
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6846731
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Bud grew irritated. "Now waitaminute, goddamnit--this isn't only about the girl. You dropped five bodies in two days. You think, what, Pitman can tell LAPD, Hey, it's all right, our civilian killed those dudes to protect our witness, and Northeast Homicide will let it go? You have to help straighten this out."
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Robert Crais |
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5b0d1cc
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Bud handed them to Pike, and tapped the top picture. "This man was one of the original home invaders. You shot him in Malibu. He's the only one of the five you shot who was also one of the home invaders." "What's his name?" "I don't know. But this man--" Bud shuffled the pictures to point out a man with prominent cheekbones and a scarred lip. "--he's the freak who beat the housekeeper. You recognize either of these other guys from Malibu or..
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Robert Crais |
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ca3cc35
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Chen didn't get back to the lab until almost six, only to find Harriet haunting the gun room like the Ghost of Christmas Future. Pike was certain to be impatient with the delay and no doubt would be growing angrier and angrier--at John.
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Robert Crais |
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5cac1af
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Pike stood again, and once more faced the crowd. "I qualified as a scout/sniper and served in Force Recon, mostly on long-range reconnaissance teams, hunter/killer teams, and priority target missions. I'm black belt qualified in tae kwon do, kung fu, wing chun, judo, and ubawazi. I like to run and work out. I like to read."
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Robert Crais |
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c1cb9ff
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COLE STOPPED by his office that morning to pick up the calling logs before heading on to stay with the girl. His friend at the phone company had faxed twenty-six pages of outgoing and incoming phone numbers, some of which were identified, but many of which were not. Cole would have to go through the numbers one by one, but the girl would probably help. Cole liked the girl. She was funny and smart and laughed at his jokes. All the major food..
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Robert Crais |
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9b8c231
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Pike had hinted at some kind of conspiracy, but Chen figured he was talking about a couple of crooked cops. Now it looked like the feds and Parker Center were involved, and no one seemed to know why, or what they were doing, even though they were doing things that no legitimate police agency would do. The chain of evidence was sacrosanct, and now the evidence was gone.
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Robert Crais |
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e3e9936
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Chen tried to speak, but his mouth was too dry. He worked up some spit. "You're not--listen, Chris, you're not going to tell--well, I mean, Harriet doesn't need to--" LaMolla, still considering him with her calm, predatory eyes, uncrossed her arms and spread her hands wide like Moses parting the waters. "This is the gun room. This room is mine. These guns are mine. The evidence here? This is my evidence. I don't like someone taking it. I do..
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Robert Crais |
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666b02e
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Flynn seemed to want a response, so Pike nodded. "I respect your service, but I don't give a rat's ass about it. Half this police force was in the Marines and the other half is tired of hearing about it. This is a city in the United States of America. It isn't a war zone."
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Robert Crais |
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b58e625
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Button's face was blank as Pike approached, but a deep line cut Futardo's brow. Pike wondered what she was thinking. Button's jacket was already off in anticipation of the coming heat, and his hands were in his pockets. He didn't take them out to shake. Instead, he nodded toward the canal. "There you go." Pike looked, and in that moment he realized all his assumptions were wrong." --
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Robert Crais |
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0ec9a50
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The cold grew until Cole felt numb. He stared at Steve Brown's house, and wondered who these people were and if everything the woman told Pike was lies. Cole
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Robert Crais |
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24b2110
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WHEN COLE CUT HIM FREE, Jon amscrayed back to West Hollywood. He hadn't been home long enough to heat his pool, but Jon stripped as he walked through his house, and hit the water like a naked lawn dart. The cold water slapped him; lit up his skin with a thousand stingers, but was clear, and clean, and cleansing. Jon loved it. First thing he did when he got home from a job: into the pool, out; it was like being reborn. Jon
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Robert Crais |
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0e4e22b
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There isn't so much love in the world that you can turn it away when it's offered.
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Robert Crais |
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48d3f7a
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Pike pulled the hose from the side of the house, filled the bucket with sudsy water, then rinsed the car. He began at the nose, rubbing the car with his hand to slough away the dirt. The cat came out to watch. The water splashed his fur with liquid shrapnel, but the cat did not move. Pike
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Robert Crais |
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1e635c1
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Don't tell her what I found here, okay? I want to tell her." "Whatever you want." "I have to go." Pike"
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Robert Crais |
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f94e9d2
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cat came toward him, paced away, then returned. Its dark face was as fierce as a Maori. The fur on its spine was spiked like a Mohawk warrior. Pike
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Robert Crais |
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a649085
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Scott found two discs when he opened the envelope, one labeled Tyler's, the other Club Red. Something about the number of discs bothered him, and then he recalled Melon had logged two discs from Club Red. He wondered why Cowly gave him only one of the Club Red discs, but decided it didn't matter. Scott
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Robert Crais |
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6fe5f0e
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Terrio and Deets left without a word. The chief followed them, and the woman Pike had seen in the backseat of Terrio's car on the day they told him about Frank entered and closed the door. Blue blazer over a white shirt. Dark gray slacks. An angry slash for a mouth. She studied Pike as if he were a lab specimen, then glanced up at the camera, hanging patiently from the ceiling. She went to the camera, unplugged it, then turned back to Pike...
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Robert Crais |
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7d3bcc2
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Scott ejected the disc. The Club Red disc was by far the superior, which left Scott wondering what the missing disc showed. He dug out Melon's interview with Richard Levin to make sure he had it right, and reread the handwritten note: R. Levin--deliv sec vid--2 discs-- EV # H6218B Scott decided to phone Cowly. "Joyce? Hey, it's Scott James. Hope you don't mind. I have a question about these discs." "Sure. What's up?" "I was wondering why yo..
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Robert Crais |
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7658489
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I blinked at the black man. "Are you the Syrian?" "Boy, I'm from Compton. The man ain't here. We gonna search you again, and get you back on the road." "Why do you have to search me again?" "Coz that's the way we do things. Get your ass out of there." Wander gave me the ugly smile, which he probably took to be encouraging. "You checked out fine, bro. Everything's copacetic." The black guy stepped back so I could get out in the tight space b..
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Robert Crais |
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2796e62
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The front door was a standard wood entry, stained dark to match the house. A Master deadbolt was set in the frame above the knob lock. Cole pulled on a pair of vinyl gloves, selected a pick and a tension wrench from his pick kit, and went to work. Two minutes for the deadbolt, one for the knob. On-the-job training courtesy of the United States Army. Cole
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Robert Crais |
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ff51e37
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You're a strange dude, Cole. Not as strange as Pike, but strange." Scott slid into his car, and drove away. I looked at Pike. "Are we strange?" Pike went to his Jeep without answering, and brought me back to my car."
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Robert Crais |
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1e560da
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I'm required to read this admonition. Your silence can be deemed as insubordination and lead to administrative discipline, which could result in your discharge or removal from office. You understand what this means?" "Yes, sir." Do what we say, or we can fire you. VanMeter placed a printed form and a pen on the table. "This is an acknowledgment you received the admonition. Sign and date here. If you refuse to sign, I'll mark the space 'refu..
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Robert Crais |
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53cb62a
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Can you see the entry?" "Yes." "Watch." "It's only two o'clock. Will be hours before he come." "Watch." He expected her to fidget or try to make conversation, but she didn't. She sat behind him, a second presence in the car, quiet and still, watching. They watched for an hour and ten minutes, silent, as people came and went around them, parking, backing out, pushing buggies filled high with groceries. Rina did not move or speak for the enti..
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Robert Crais |
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c9e7229
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I wasn't an expert on immigration, but anyone living in Southern California becomes conversant with the issue. "Do"
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Robert Crais |
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3604152
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As the firing stopped, Pike saw an oversized white SUV on the far side of the parking lot, only this SUV wasn't an ordinary police vehicle. The blue lettering and insignia on the side were difficult to see in the dim light, but visible. ATF. SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM. The Special Response Team was the ATF version of SWAT. "Jon."
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Robert Crais |
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e46524d
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My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I did not move. He did a slow three-sixty until his eyes settled on the taco stand. A middle-aged Latina was ordering food. The red-haired cop was forty yards away, but I still saw the lines that trapped his eyes like spiderwebs. The
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Robert Crais |
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97b8236
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A dog barked further inland somewhere in Ghost Town, and Pike heard vehicles on nearby Pacific Boulevard, but here the houses slept. The smell of the sea was strong. The largest canal--Grand Canal--ran to the ocean through Marina del Rey, and fed the five inland canals with life. Small fish swam in the shallow water, and sea plants grew in wavy clumps. Pike
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Robert Crais |
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9f15791
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Ghazi al-Diri's life ended with the Korean's call. He was in the commissary when his phone buzzed, letting his coffee steep in a French press he brought from Sao Paulo. Now, he slipped the phone into his pocket, and poured the coffee. Several of his men were near, eating burritos of eggs and beans they had made for themselves. Ghazi moved away from them to think. He was angry, but might yet survive if he remained calm. Maysan
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Robert Crais |
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6c528bd
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Stone tried to sound noncommittal. He knew Koreatown well. Liked the women. Liked karaoke. The Koreans were big on noraebang. "I" --
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Robert Crais |