Chapter 44

Garcia’s head felt like it was filled with burning coals. Every joint in her body was stretched, ready to snap. She was certain something in her wrist had already broken. Walter grabbed the back of her hair, yanking her head to keep her from head-butting him again. His arm pressed against her shoulder, driving downward and putting unbearable pressure on it.

“Virginia Ross,” he whispered into her ear, his face close enough she could smell the onions from his dinner. “Point me to her.”

The pain in her shoulder was so great Garcia could barely comprehend the question. Any words she could have mustered were covered in panting sobs.

Walter eased up a hair, bringing a measure of relief.

“You know,” he said, “I took it easy on her because of her office. You don’t have that luxury.” He reached into his pocket with his free hand and drew out a small insulin syringe. “So I guess we find ourselves at a crossroads. Will you be the traitor who gives up her fellow conspirators and spends the rest of her days in prison, or will the authorities find the shell of your once beautiful body, scarred and abused by the men who supplied you with drugs?”

“You sadistic bastard!” Ronnie spat. She screamed when Walter bore down again with his arm, grinding her teeth until she thought they might shatter.

He thumbed the flesh of her neck with the hand that held the syringe. “Have you ever heard of Krokodil?”

Ronnie felt her knees give out at the word. Named for the scaly skin of its users, Krokodil was nasty stuff. It had been developed as a cheap heroin substitute in Russia, where codeine was available over the counter. It might contain hydrochloric acid, red phosphorous, lighter fluid, and even gasoline. As addictive as meth, depending on the batch, it had a tendency to eat away flesh at the injection site, exposing bone.

Walter laughed in her ear. “You’ll still be sexy for a day or two,” he said. “Long enough for my purposes. But I have quite a supply of this stuff. It won’t be long before I’m tired of you. You’ll be so nasty by then even Joey B won’t want you—and that’s saying something.”

Ronnie rolled her eyes sideways to stare at the needle. Palmer and the others would already be moving, but she knew too much that could hurt them. She had to do something to make Walter angry enough to kill her before she talked.