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CHAPTER 1
Alan Wilde was supposed to die at 8 penda, and I a if not precise about my schedule, even if it only exists in my head
I was lying on a cliff overlooking docks The sign called it a ree It was a collection of battered and rotted wharfsa collection of battered and rusted boats The boats ht not have been yachts, but they were all someone's pride and joy, with names like Buoys & Gulls and Seas the Day Owned by folks who'd drea to fish
Wilde's boat was notFrom what I'd seen inup and down the coastline, setting canoeists and kayakers cursing as they struggled against the boat's wake Tonight he was due to arrive at eight with his girlfriend, having told his wife he was going for a ht ride alone
So at 7:50 I was settled in, lying on my stomach, sniper rifle at the ready The docks were quiet This was Michigan cottage country, and it was too late in the year for tourists, too late in the day for locals When a car pulled in, I expected Wilde's Mustang Instead it was his winter beater--an ancient Corolla The Mustang iven that I'd seen hi with it yesterday
Then a second set of headlights turned into the tiny parking lot Alan Wilde's bright yellow Mustang The Corolla driver's door opened and out climbed Mrs Wilde
The Mustang paused at the edge of the lot Mrs Wilde didn't notice the hesitation She was pulling her seat forward to get their three-year-old daughter, Hannah, out of her booster
Wilde had tietaway Whoops, I didn't see you there, honey I realized I'd left so at the shop and went back
He wouldn't even need to worry about his wife phoning and telling hier had a cell phone He'd taken it away after their last fight, when he'd dragged her out of the car, ten miles from town, and left her there She had used her phone to call her father to coet her, which completely defeated the purpose of the lesson So Wilde confiscated it
That et away But after a h er seat He knew his ould, too He just didn't care He roared up beside the Corolla and threw open the car door
"What the hell are you doing here with the baby?" he shouted I could hear him even without my earpiece amplifier "Do you knohat time it is?"
"Sh-she's sick," Rose said, still standing by her back door "She's running a fever, and I wanted to know if I can take her to the
doctor"