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Gone (Michael Bennett)

Gone (Michael Bennett)

Titel: Gone (Michael Bennett) Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: James Patterson
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backbreaking cattle-farm manual labor, would let his fork fall from his callused fist with a clank. With the slow deliberation of a tank cannon acquiring a target, his weather-beaten face would slowly rise from his meal and shift until it was leveled at the offender.
    He never said anything. He never had to. A judge about to deliver a death sentence couldn’t approach the solemn, cold, carved-granite malevolence of his silence. There in his gray-blue gaze lay a guaranteed offer. With one more measly word, you would find yourself in the sudden possession of the entire universe of everything you didn’t want.
    Standing there in the sweltering kitchen, Mary Catherine suddenly gave that same look to the boys.
    The boys glanced at each other, and slowly, one by one, silently, left the room.
    Mary Catherine smiled to herself after they’d left. She’d always been her father’s daughter.

CHAPTER 71
     
    THE FOOD HAD COME out perfectly, even if Mary Catherine said so herself. The chicken wasn’t dry, and the mashed potatoes and stuffing were seasoned to her exacting standards. Leo certainly seemed to enjoy it, from the way he cleaned his plate and reloaded. He especially seemed to enjoy the homemade pepper gravy, she noticed with delight.
    It was the kids who were doing their level best to make the meal as unpleasant as possible. They ate with their heads down, slowly and all but silently, except for the harsh, scraping clicks of silverware off plates. Even Eddie and Ricky, who could eat their weight these days, were holding back, acting like they were at a funeral.
    “Don’t let these people fool you, Leo,” Seamus suddenly called out in the dead silence. “This fine bunch of formal young lads and lasses is usually quite lively come mealtime. You’re having quite an effect on them.”
    “A positive one, I hope, Father Seamus,” Leo said with a polite grin.
    “Aye, without a doubt,” Seamus said, chewing as he looked around the table. “Now tell me, Leo. I couldn’t help but notice, that’s quite some firepower you bring with you every evening. What kind of rifle is it?”
    “Now, Seamus,” Mary Catherine said, “is that polite dinner conversation?”
    “Perhaps not,” Seamus said with a shrug. “But I figure, even somewhat impolite dinner conversation is a tad better than none at all.”
    “It’s an M-four,” Leo said.
    “An M-four?” Seamus said, nodding. “Is it not an M-sixteen?”
    “Well, the M-four is sort of the latest version of the M-sixteen,” Leo said. “The main difference is that it’s smaller and lighter and has a shorter barrel, for close-quarter combat.”
    “Hmm,” Seamus said, chewing. “What round does it shoot? A .223?”
    The kids started to smile and giggle as they saw Mary Catherine roll her eyes. At least the little ones. The older crew of boys looked like they were silently praying to disappear.
    “No, a new 5.56 round, actually,” Leo said.
    “To account for the shorter barrel?” Seamus said.
    “Exactly,” Leo said, exchanging a smile with Mary Catherine. “Do you shoot, Father?”
    Seamus’s shoulders sagged as he sighed.
    “Oh, no,” he said. “They won’t let me.”

CHAPTER 72
     
    IN THE SHADOWS, CATTY-CORNER from the farmhouse, laughter echoed in the earbud of a man dressed head to toe in black, crouching there, motionless.
    The earbud was attached to a shotgun microphone he’d purchased in San Fran the day before, along with a zoom-lens camera. He would have gone in closer to get some shots through a window with the camera, but he’d spotted motion detectors along the property’s perimeter coming in, so he didn’t want to risk it. There seemed to be only one US marshal who was currently in the house, eating with the family, but you never knew.
    He’d ridden in on horseback, careful to skirt the herds of cattle as well as Cody’s farmhouse dogs. He’d tied up about a mile to the north and hoofed it the rest of the way. Care was required here, considering the marshal would probably shoot him on sight.
    It’s them , the man thought, listening to the tinny dinner chatter. They were everything his cartel contact had said to keep an eye out for: all those kids, the old man and the young woman with the Irish accents. It had to be the cop’s family. Who else on the face of the earth could it be?
    And to think that he had his drug-addict brother-in-law, Cristiano, to thank for this mother lode. He had gone by the house for his monthly sponge

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