No Way to Die (43 page)
Authors: M. D. Grayson
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Mystery, #Hard-Boiled
She looked at me and smiled. “Why do you hate to say that?”
“Because it shouldn’t have taken the threat of losing you to make me realize how good I’ve had it with you around. I’ve been a complete idiot. When I think back on it, I realize I've been fooling myself for a long time and I don't want to do that anymore. I hope you feel the same way, but as for me, I don’t want to be without you anymore. I think we have something special.”
Then she leaned over and tenderly kissed me on the forehead. “I think you got hit on the head harder than you think you did, Danny Logan,” she said.
She started to pull back, but I reached up and put my hand behind her shoulder. She stopped.
“I didn’t get hit that hard,” I said. I pulled her back, and for the first time ever, I kissed Toni Blair. I kissed her long and gentle and deep—not on the forehead. I kissed her and my whole world turned—right then and there, lying on a hospital bed at Harborview Medical Center. My heart raced, and I felt woozy all over again. My vital signs must have gone off the friggin’ chart.
When we stopped, she fell against me, and we held each other tightly. She trembled in my arms.
“Told you,” I whispered to her as I buried my face in her hair.
I felt her tears on my neck. “Oh, my God,” she said softly. “Oh, my God.”
* * * *
April 16, 2012
11:05 a.m.
JOAQUIN “DOC” KIAHTEL leaned back in a folding recliner chair, contemplating his future. He’d made camp at Kalaloch in the Olympic National Park, just north of the Quinault Reservation, on a wooded bluff overlooking the beach at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The day was bright and sunny—not normal for this time of year. Doc took this as a good sign.
Usually, he avoided touristy-type campgrounds like Kalaloch, but he also knew that if you wanted to camp on the ocean, Kalaloch was the best game in town. And today, Doc wanted to be on the ocean.
The ocean breeze flowing off the water and up the bluff was cool, despite the sunny day. Doc flipped his collar up and pulled his jacket around him. He watched the seagulls soaring along the ridgeline above the bluff. Far out on the water, he could see a ship steaming north, preparing to round Cape Flattery before heading to the Puget Sound.
This is about as far away from the Chiricahua Reservation as an Apache boy from central New Mexico can get
, he thought. Not that he was running or hiding. Just the opposite, in fact. Now, it was about time to stop running and hiding. He was planning on coming out.
Big changes coming,
he thought.
I’ve kept to myself for six years, ever since Dot got killed. No more.
No man knows what tomorrow brings, but I know what makes me happy today. I’m not going to hide it anymore. Kenny will tease me, but that’s his problem. Danny and Toni won’t, especially not now. They are all friends—even Kenny. Family.
Doc heard a rustling sound coming from his tent. He turned just as a tall, striking, dark-haired woman stepped out. She smiled at him, and Doc felt his heart leap in the same way it had when he’d first seen Dr. Prita Dekhlikiseh six months ago when he went to the Swedish Medical Center for his annual physical. Apache women in Seattle were about as rare as Apache men, so the two of them had been naturally drawn together. Now, Doc and Pri were inseparable, although Doc had told no one—not even Danny. This was soon to change.
“Hey,” she said, walking toward him. “What time are they supposed to be here?”
“Toni said they’d get here by noon.”
“And you haven’t told them about me?”
“Nope. Trust me. They’re gonna be surprised.”
“I’m a little nervous about meeting them,” Pri said. “They’re basically your family, you know.”
Doc smiled. “They
are
family. You don’t have to be nervous about meeting Danny and Toni.”
She looked out over the ocean. “It’s beautiful, Doc.” she said. “You got room for two?”
Doc nodded and pointed to the other chair. “Right here,” he said. “Sit down with me. Let me show you the ocean.”
* * * *
The cryptological technology described in
No Way to Die
exists essentially as I’ve described it—except, of course, that there’s no Starfire Protocol and there’s no LILLYPAD (if there is, no one's talking). The underlying technology for both of these devices, though, is real and works as presented. Asymmetrical-key technology remains the prevailing encryption technology in use today. There’s speculation that someday, someone will figure out a way to factor the large numbers involved—just like Thomas Rasmussen did in
No Way to Die
. When this happens, maybe someone will have also figured out how to solve the inherent problems connected to single-pad encryption technology. Single-pad has been around for more than one hundred years. Of course, the companies in
No Way to Die
—Applied Cryptographic Solutions and Madoc Secured Technologies—are products of my imagination.
The medical technology involved in rendering a person completely incapacitated also exists. In fact, stun guns, Tasers, and stun wands can be purchased online at dozens of retail outlets.
Which leads to an interesting thought: hopefully, the Feds weren’t monitoring my website-browsing patterns while I worked on No
Way to Die
. With all my research into explosives, paralyzing agents, stun guns, cryptology, and the like, I could be in real trouble.
No Way to Die
required a great deal of research and specialized information, which I was fortunate to obtain through the efforts of the following people.
To Dr. John Kremer, for helping me understand the physiological effects of electroshock weapons, including the telltale aftereffects.
To Officer Tony Falso of the Mukilteo Police Department, for his detailed critique of the police procedures used throughout the story. Any remaining procedural errors are mine alone.
To Gabe Robinson, for helping to identify and bring out the real story hidden in the jumble of words that was my original effort.
To Brynn Warriner and Carrie Wicks, for helping me take what I (mistakenly) hoped was a finished manuscript to a manuscript that now really is finished—a humbling but necessary experience. Both Brynn and Carrie work in Seattle, and they also provided sound advice and assistance on specifics of the novel’s Seattle setting.
To Ellen Johnson, Casey Jacobs, and Dennis Doppe, for reading early versions of
No Way to Die
and providing valuable feedback.
Finally, as always, to my wife, Michelle, for her constant support in this and all my other endeavors.
Chapter 1 Mondays are my . . .
Chapter 2 Whenever my dad . . .
Chapter 5 When we walked . . .
Chapter 6 I called Kenny . . .
Chapter 7 The next morning . . .
Chapter 11 After our meeting . . .
Chapter 12 I didn't want . . .
Chapter 16 The Seattle headquarters . . .
Chapter 17 Hey! What are . . .
Chapter 18 With Toni gone . . .
Chapter 19 The meeting broke . . .
Chapter 21 My alarm beeped . . .
Chapter 22 The sun actually . . .
Chapter 23 It's always an . . .
M.D. Grayson is the author of the Danny Logan mystery series, which includes (so far)
Angel Dance
and
No Way to Die.
He lives on an island near Seattle with his wife, Michelle, and their three German shepherds.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Mr. Grayson worked in the construction industry as an accountant for six l-o-n-g weeks (square peg–round hole) and as a piano player on the Las Vegas strip. When he’s not writing, he loves zooming about on two wheels—bicycles and motorcycles alike. In addition, he’s a pilot, a boater, and an accomplished musician—always ready for a jam session!
Connect online:
Blog:
http://www.mdgrayson.com
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/md_grayson
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/mdgraysonauthorpage
In the Danny Logan series debut, beautiful Seattle business heiress Gina Fiore has vanished without a trace. Desperate for help, her family turns to Danny Logan, Gina’s former boyfriend, to find her and bring her home safely. Logan is a fifth-generation Seattle native who owns Logan Private Investigations. Along with his associates Antoinette “Toni” Blair, Kenny Hale, and Joaquin Kiahtel, he accepts the case and begins the hunt for Gina.
Logan and his team dig for clues and soon find that they’re not the only ones looking for Gina. The Tijuana-Mendez drug cartel is keenly interested in her whereabouts, as is the Calabria crime family from Chicago. The race is on to locate Gina—the stakes could not be higher. In order to prevail, Logan’s going to need all the skill and luck he can gather, and he’s going to need to confront the unresolved feelings he still has for Gina—feelings that might just get him killed!
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
No Way to Die
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Copyright © 2012 by M.D. Grayson.
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