The Mole in His Bed novel · Chapter 6 of 24
Chapter 6: Pier Nine
Judith told me not to go.
"The families gather at the wall every Wednesday night of the trial," she said. "The chief gives a speech. You walk in there and somebody will try to hurt you."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because one of them has the answer I need, and she won't take my call."
Judith looked at me over her glasses for a long time.
"Two marshals," she said. "You stay in the middle of them."
Pier Nine was a black granite wall at the end of the waterfront, with a hundred and twelve names cut into it.
In front of it was the paved square where the raid had gone wrong.
By seven o'clock the square was full of candles.
There were folding chairs for the families and a podium with the department's seal on it.
The television trucks were parked along the fence.
When the marshals walked me in, the talking stopped from the back forward.
A man near the fence shouted, "Traitor," and his wife put a hand over his mouth, and then took it away again.
I walked to the wall.
I knew where the name was.
I had read the list on a stolen phone in a warehouse five years ago, and I had counted every line.
My captain was fourth from the top in the second column.
I laid my palm flat on the cold stone below his name.
Behind me the candles hissed in the wind.
Footsteps came across the pavement, short and quick.
I turned, and his widow hit me across the face with her open hand.
The crack of it carried to the television trucks.
She was a small woman in a good coat, with white hair pinned up, and she was shaking all over.
Keep reading free with an account. Start The Mole in His Bed from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 5 · All chapters · Chapter 7 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend