Read Blood of Cain (Sean O'Brien (Mystery/Thrillers)) for Free Online Page B

shake his head and purse his lips, I didn't want to turn around. Dave shifted in his seat and said, “Can't see her eyes from here, but everything else you described is spot on.”
    I turned in my chair and saw Courtney Burke coming our way. Over my shoulder I heard Nick say, “I don’t care what your French baker said, Dave. When it comes to Sean, my man Forrest Gump said it best, shit happens.”

9
    Courtney Burke was still wearing the same clothes she had on when I found her. She approached
St. Michael
with trepidation, her body language communicating before she spoke. She used her right hand to pull a strand of her hair behind one ear, licked her bottom lip, and looked back toward the marina for a second. She said, “You'd told me about your boat when we met, said you did work on it at this marina. The woman at the bar said I could find you here.”
    I nodded. “Hello, Courtney.” Max cocked her head and wagged her tail. “These are my friends, Dave Collins and Nick Cronus.”
    “Pleased to me you,” Dave said.
    Nick grinned and wiped his hands on a white towel. “Come aboard. I’ll fix you my special grouper sandwich.”
    She blew air from her cheeks. “Thanks, but I can't stay long.” She cut her piercing eyes at me. “Mr. O'Brien, I didn't get a chance to thank you for what you did.”
    “You didn't stick around long enough to, but I'm glad you're safe.”
    She crossed her arms. “I don't mean to intrude, but can I talk to you in private?”
    “
Jupiter's
two boats down. We can chat there. Mind if Max tags along?”
    She smiled for a second and looked at Max. “Sure. She's sweet.”
    “So am I,” Nick said with open arms. “But only in an Uncle Nick kind of way.”
    Something moved over her eyes like black ice. Nick lowered his arms, grinned, cleared his throat and said, “I'm gonna make you a take-out meal. 'Cause if I don't, Dave will give you a chocolate éclair and maybe send your blood sugar so high you fall off the dock.” He grinned.
    The glacier melted from her eyes. She nodded. “That would be good, thank you.”
    I lifted Max up and walked with Courtney to
Jupiter
. The boat wore its fresh colors well, the slight smell of paint and varnish in the air, the mid-day sun licking the back of my neck. “I'll open the salon doors and let
Jupiter
breathe some. She’s just been re-painted. We can talk up on the fly bridge. It'll give you a nice view of the marina. You can see for miles in any direction.”
    She nodded and we climbed the steps to the bridge. “Sit anywhere you'd like,” I said, unzipping the isinglass and setting Max on the deck where she promptly began investigating the nooks and corners for new smells. Courtney sat on the long bench seat, and I lowered into the captain's chair. She looked around the marina, from the lighthouse a half mile away, to the parking lot in front of the Tiki Bar. A gentle cross-breeze delivered the smell of blooming mangroves and the salty soul of the sea.
    “How old is your dog?” she asked.
    “Max won't tell her exact age, but I know she's three, which makes her about your age in dog years.”
    Courtney smiled, eyes following Max. “I’m nineteen.” She blew air from her cheeks, her thoughts now far away. I let her take her time. Then she said, “Mr. O'Brien-”
    “Sean.”
    “Sean … anybody ever tell you that you look like that actor Gerard Butler?”
    “Not yet today.”
    Courtney smiled and said, “I came here because you seemed like you really gave a shit when you found me. I'm sorry I hid from you and ran. When you saw me walking on the road I was running away from something really bad that happened.”
    “What was that?”
    “My friend was killed. He was stabbed to death at the carnival where we both work. It was late. Lonnie was a ride operator. I talked him into letting me take a midnight ride on the Big Wheel. I feel so terrible, but there was nothing that I could do.”
    “Courtney, take it from the beginning. Leave