Read an extract from Choppy Water, the new novel by the King of Twists Jack Heath
Start reading from Choppy Water by Jack Heath.
Detective Valeria Rodriguez can’t bring herself to look at the left-hand side of the whiteboard, so she studies the pictures on the right. Her suspect grins at her from atop a dusty motorcycle. He’s thirty-two but looks older thanks to the sunburn. He has a short ponytail, a patchy beard, and a rope tattoo around his neck. In another picture he’s clean-shaven, dressed in a sharp blue suit with an open collar and a carnation pinned to the breast pocket. He’s looking longingly at someone just out of frame.
Rodriguez can still feel his thick hair in her fists, his strong hands on her hips. See those dark eyes smiling up at her from between her legs.
Fucking get it together, Val, she tells herself. ‘Boss?’ a voice prompts from behind her.
Rodriguez had forgotten there were other people in the room.
Without turning around, she says, ‘He knows we’re after him. He’ll be trying to get some distance from the last known location.’ She uses a red Sharpie to write LKL on the map next to Mira Mesa Boulevard. ‘But first he’ll shave, cut off the ponytail, get a scarf to cover the ink. He’ll get some glasses—but not sunglasses, because he’ll want to wear them at night as well as during the day. His picture has gone out to media, but it’s unlikely to help. He’s good at this. You may not recognise him even if he’s right in front of you. I want roadblocks on the I-15 here, and here.’ She draws two stars, then a large circle. ‘By now he will have changed the plates on his motorcycle. All vehicles need to be stopped and checked. I also want CCTV from every thrift shop and all-night drugstore in a twenty-mile radius.’ ‘Most thrift stores are closed by seven p.m.,’ another voice objects. ‘Won’t he go to Walmart or something?’ ‘No. He’ll steal an outfit from the cans out front.
Goodwill has security cameras to catch illegal dumpers, so we might be able to get a rough idea of what he took. But he could double-bluff us. Take one outfit and wear another.’ Rodriguez turns to face the room. Seven pairs of tired eyes stare back at her, washed out under the fluorescents. ‘We know he has a gun, and access to cash. He also has experience—he’s changed his name a dozen times. On top of all that, he has a two-hour head start. Every second counts. Any questions?’
Extracted from Choppy Water by Jack Heath, out now.
Choppy Water
by Jack Heath
Death on the Nile meets Die Hard in this new 'locked room' mystery by the King of Twists, Jack Heath.
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