Blood Up North by Fredrick Soukup

Author:Fredrick Soukup [Soukup, Fredrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family crime mystery;corrupt cops books;blood up north;mystery set in minnesota;chilling and smart novel;riveting rollercoaster ride;dark creepy characters;brother and sister crime duo;unputdownable mystery thriller;page-turning thriller;unputdownable page turner;psychological drama;love between criminals;criminal grandparents;minnesota book awards
Publisher: Vine Leaves Press
Published: 2022-02-14T23:00:00+00:00

8

Light snowfall sifted down from the black null above. Across the highway, the streetlight in front of the church illuminated the flakes, which in their graceless descent reversed course, bounced upward and slashed sideways, as if anguished. Cass and Vick walked along the side of the highway in the direction of Tilly’s, into a sacred night untouched by headlight or porchlight, moonlight or starlight, or the vaguest tint of fog. She heard only the swishing of their clothes and the jingling of keys in their pockets and the crackling of boots on the icy highway. She stayed several paces behind him, her exhalations fuming forth like thresholds into another world too alike her own for comfort.

She refused to believe that Jack had left Backus, and she knew he wasn’t clever or ruthless enough to tell her he buried it, then run off with it. But she still wasn’t certain she understood Vick’s ploy. The only things she was sure of were that he was desperate and that if she had the chance she’d use his desperation against him.

He lit a cigarette, waited for her to catch up, offered her one. She took it and lit it, and they walked side by side behind two tiny red beacons, the image of the lighter’s flame reemerging spottily before her. She was shaking from the chill air, from fright and shock.

“You cold?” he asked. He tried to put his arm around her, but she pulled away.

“Who’s after Jack?” she probed him.

“The worst kinds of people.”

“How far will they follow him, Vick?”

“Call me Dad, please. And don’t ask questions if you’re not ready for the answers.”

“Tell me!” she cried.

He emitted a low, almost inaudible grumble. “I doubt he makes it outta the state. These ain’t some two-bit thugs after him. It’s morbid, but I hope they shoot him in the head or the heart. Hit that gut and it’s many hours of the worst pain before you go. And I doubt you ever find the body, either. Authorities won’t spend twenty minutes looking for it. I don’t want you to worry about yourself or Tilly, okay? I’ll keep you two safe. The worst of it’s over.”

“Real concerned about me now, huh?”

“Always am, in my own way. You love thinking I don’t got compassion. I heard what they’d done to you and I saw what they did to Grandma.”

“You sent them there yourself!”

He stopped, so she stopped beside him. He flicked his butt and she hers. They faced each other.

“But not to go wild on you,” he said. “Only to help Jack. Even still, I was trying to let it go when I got to the bar, for yours and Tilly’s sakes, if you can believe it. But I had a little change of heart. It happens. A stupid piece of shit like me is still a man. Shit, those boys ain’t worth wondering over. They ain’t nothing. Sometimes you can’t underestimate people. Sometimes you can’t overestimate them. As it is, we didn’t think you’d put up such a fight.

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