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Stirs wants to talk to you Prison major came by"

"Hel ," said the supervisor

He started toward the vestry and Pablo garroted hi everywhere The supervisor’s fingers raked at the elusive string around his neck as Pablo dragged hione liet him around the neck, but the oldiron coood yel before Elroy ca hi hard with the celass and a lass was impaled just below Grier’s sternuers clutched his gut

CC slapped Elroy’s arm "What the hel you do that for?"

"Just happened"

They stood there, frozen, as Grier’s muscles relaxed His mouth opened and stayed that way

Five arroted rookie stripped to their underwear The rookie was only unconscious, so they tied him up, taped his mouth, crammed him and Grier’s corpse into the tiny vestry with the coot into the supervisors’ clothes Grier’s had blood on the ured he could cover the stains with a clipboard Luis’ clothes had barbecue sauce splattered down the front Neither uniforht pass They didn’t have to fool anybody very long

Elroy and Luis put the supervisors’ IDs around their necks They tucked the laminated photos in their shirt pockets like they didn’t want theainst their chests

CC, stil in prison whites,he was the Maintenance Departate to expect a crew in fiveup, smiled at Stirman "They can’t wait to see us Damn camera’s been broke for a month We’l cal you from the sal y port"

"Don’t screw up," Stirman told him

"Who, me?"

With one last look, Pablo tried to warn Luis to be careful He couldn’t shake the iuise seen through in a second, but Luis just grinned at hirand time Luis threw Pablo the keys to the Reverend’s SUV

Once they were gone, Stir?" Pablo asked

Stir of nu up

"What?" Pablo de eyes--close-set, dark as oil, with a softness that ht’ve been er behind theator, or a doctor in a Nazi death cae," Stirined so those words as the boxcar door closed on her and her fa them in the hot unventilated darkness, with a pro

Pablo needed to kil Stirman

He should take out his shank and do it But he couldn’t with Zeke there--stupid loyal Zeke with his stupid soldering iron

Thunder broke, rol ing across the tin roof of the chapel

"Big storood for us"

"It won’t rain," Pablo said in Spanish He felt like being stubborn, forcing Stirave hient look "Hundred-year flood, son Wait and see"

Pablo wanted to argue, but his voice wouldn’t work

Stirman took the car keys out of his hand and went in the other roo the brass cross on the Reverend’s chain

Pablo stared at the phone

Luis, Elroy and CC should’ve reached the back gate by now They should’ve cal ed

Or else they’d failed, and the guards were coed between the unconscious supervisor and Grier’s body, Pastor Riggs stared at hi like a volcanic crater in his white hair

Out in the chapel, Zeke was pacing with his soldering iron He’d done an i up Grier’s blood, so his footprints made faint red prints back and forth across the celass He had his back to the vestry as if Pablo posed no threat at al

Pablo could walk out there, drive the shank into Stir

He was considering the possibility when Zeke stopped, looking at so

Whatever it was, his attention was diverted The tiripped the shank

He’d gone three steps toward Stiruard came in

It was Officer Gonzales

She scanned the roo the trustees’ positions like land mines Stirman and Zeke stood perfectly stil