Dead of Winter (55 page)
Seeing it brought back the dream about the blue capsule and he realized now what it had meant. Just a month ago he had sat with his father in front of the TV watching a man pour hundreds of blue capsules into a huge jar sitting on a stool. No “Mayberry RFD” tonight, just Roger Mudd staring back over his shoulder into the camera and whispering as a man in a suit and horn-rimmed glasses pulled out the first blue capsule.
September fourteenth, zero zero one.
His father, sitting in the shadows, had said nothing, just got up and went into the kitchen. Alone, Cooper watched as they put the little slip of white paper with his birthday on it up on a big board next to the American flag. He had never won anything in his life -– except this. The luck of being among the first young men drafted into the Vietnam War.
His eyes drifted left, again to where he imagined Canada was. He would be there soon enough, but right now he had to get to the island. He had to get to Julie.
A loud crack, like a rifle shot.
He froze. Afraid to look down, afraid to even take a breath. Another crack.
Suddenly the world dropped.
Blackness. Water. Cold.
His scream died to a gurgle as the water closed over him.
He groped but there was nothing but water. Everything was getting heavy and darker. He had to get some air. He pushed the duffle off and kicked upward. But his hands hit only a ceiling of ice. He couldn’t find the hole, he couldn’t see anything, he couldn’t breathe.
He could feel his heart slowing in his chest, his blood growing colder.
Mom, I miss you.
Dad, I’m sorry.
Julie...
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P.J. Parrish is the
New York Times
bestselling author of ten Louis Kincaid and Joe Frye thrillers. The author is actually two sisters, Kristy Montee and Kelly Nichols. Their books have appeared on both the
New York Times
and
USA Today
best seller lists. The series has garnered 11 major crime-fiction awards, and an Edgar® nomination. Parrish has won two Shamus awards, one Anthony and one International Thriller competition. Her books have been published throughout Europe and Asia.
Parrish's short stories have also appeared in many anthologies, including two published by Mystery Writers of America, edited by Harlan Coben and the late Stuart Kaminsky. Their stories have also appeared in Akashic Books acclaimed DETROIT NOIR, and in
Ellery Queen Magazine
. Most recently, they contributed an essay to a special edition of Edgar Allan Poe's works edited by Michael Connelly.
Before turning to writing full time, Kristy Montee was a newspaper editor and dance critic for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. Nichols previously was a blackjack dealer and then a human resources specialist in the casino industry. Montee lives in Fort Lauderdale and Nichols resides in Elk Rapids, Michigan.
The sisters were writers as kids, albeit with different styles: Kelly's first attempt at fiction at age 11 was titled “The Kill.” Kristy's at 13 was “The Cat Who Understood.” Not much has changed: Kelly now tends to handle the gory stuff and Kristy the character development. But the collaboration is a smooth one, thanks to lots of ego suppression, good wine, and marathon phone calls via Skype.