Read So sure of death for Free Online Page B

Liam thought. As if what? They looked respectful and wary at the same time, on the alert, ready for action. It was very odd. It also wasn't anything he had time for.
    “Do you want to see the Malones' house? Larsgaard said, still without emotion.
    “Yes, Liam said. “Later, after . . . He waved a hand at the boat. They understood.
    Ekwok's cherubic face hardened into purposeful lines. “Do you want help, moving them out?
    Liam forced a smile. “Thank you. We'll get them out on deck. Afterward, we could use help in getting them to the plane. He nodded at the Cessna, its floats run up on the wooden skid fastened to the end of the slip closest to the mouth of the harbor. Prince was closing the door, a bundle of heavy black plastic under one arm. She came toward them, long legs eating up the distance. They all turned to look.Gussukthough she was, Diana Prince was worth a look. She was, Liam thought, surveying her critically over the heads of the other five men, one of the few women he'd met who looked good in a uniform. He knew a mild urge to rip it off her, and glanced at the faces of the other men to see if they shared in the impulse. Impassive expressions or no, he was pretty sure they did.
    If she was unnerved by the steady, unwinking regard of six pairs of male eyes, she didn't show it. She looked controlled and very much in command. She halted in front of them. “ Gentlemen, she said crisply, looking each one of them straight in the eye, one at a time.
    Liam groaned to himself. “We have to bag the bodies, he told the council, unable to dull the harsh effect of the words. “We also have to take pictures and notes of the scene. It'll be a while before we can move the bodies to the plane, and after that I'd like to see the Malones' house and talk to their neighbors. If you could come back in a couple of hours?
    He got a curt nod from Larsgaard and another grave bow from Ekwok and Andrew. The five men turned and moved off in a group. Liam watched them go, noticing they were not speaking to each other as they went.
    He turned to Prince. “It's best not to look village elders in this part of the state directly in the eye.
    She thought it over. “Because I'm a woman?
    “Mostly. Plus you're a trooper, an employee of the state government. People in general don't like cops, and people in the Bush don't like the state.
    “A double whammy.
    “Yes. It behooves us to walk very softly. He didn't say anything about a big stick.
    “I'll remember. Prince handed him a white cloth mask.
    “Thanks, he said, although he doubted anything less than a rebreather would help. He doffed cap and jacket, hoping to keep them free of the smell, put on the mask and the pair of rubber gloves and reopened the door to hell.

    Ninety minutes later they had seven body bags out of theMarybethia.Between the two of them, they managed to carry the bags one at a time to the Cessna and stack them inside without calling for extra help. The bodies had been so badly charred that identification was impossible, but the two smaller ones were obviously children and one of the bigger ones was equally obviously a woman.
    “Why did you become a trooper? Wy had asked him, so long ago now, three years and change. It had taken him a few moments to come up with an adequate response. “Because I like rules, he had said finally. “I like order. We're animals, Wy, plain and simple, even the best of us, and we need rules so we can live with each other. Sometimes somebody breaks the rules, and that's where I come in.
    He could have added that his job let him wear a uniform not of his father's service, in itself a big draw, but he didn't. He didn't talk much about his father to anyone.
    “Did you see it? Prince asked, letting her mask dangle from one ear. Her face was pale but her eyes were bright as she stripped the gloves from her hands.
    The game's afoot, Liam thought, looking at her. It was the moment every law officer waited for, when the disgust and dismay of