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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
First published in the USA in 2018 by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Copyright © Plot Line, Inc. 2018
Cover design by Dominic Forbes © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Cover photograph © Valentino Sani/Arcangel Images; Shutterstock.com (back)
Faye Kellerman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780008148898
Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9780008148904
Version: 2018-08-09
IT WAS A mob, but not yet a full-fledged riot. Over a dozen retirees, dressed in housecoats and robes, had taken to the streets, demanding action at eight in the morning. The call had come through twenty minutes earlier, just as Decker was knotting his blue tie, putting the finishing touches on his typical uniform: a dark suit over a white shirt. He skipped checking in at the station house, going immediately to the crime sceneâseven smashed mailboxes, metal poles uprooted, letters and flyers strewn into the street.
White-haired Floyd Krasner led the charge. âItâs the third time in what ⦠three months?â
âLess than that,â Annie Morris chimed in. She was in her seventies and wore a terry-cloth robe over floral pajamas. âThird time in two months. Not a good way to start the summer.â
âIâll say,â Floyd added.
Janice Darwin tightened her own coral robe and added, âI didnât give up my life in the city just to find crime here, you know.â
Decker wasnât sure what city she was from. Not that it mattered. He smoothed his mustacheâsilver with hints to its once red color. It matched the hair on his head. âI know youâre frustratedââ
âYâthink?â Floyd blurted out.
Grumbling from the masses.
Decker looked at the old manâstoop shouldered with angry eyes. He and Floyd were around the same age. Decker had the advantage of a strong back and broad shoulders, although he suspected that gravity had shoved his spine down an inch or so. Still, he had plenty to spare, always the tallest kid in the crowd. People often asked if he had played basketball.
Nope. Too much weight and too slow.
He said, âAnyone hear anything last night? This much damage must have made noise.â
No response. That was expected, since half of them wore hearing aids that they took out at night. Deckerâs eyes drifted upward to the roofline, then back at Floyd. âWhat happened to the CCTV camera that we installed on your property?â
Krasner bit his lip. âI took it down.â
âWhy?â Decker asked.
A pause. âIt was interfering with my gutter.â
âFloyd, I installed that myself. It was nowhere near your gutter. I made sure of that.â
The man looked down. âThe missus didnât like it. She said it made the place look like a fortress.â His eyes flashed. âWho cares? You know who these punks are anyway.â
âProbably, but without evidence, I canât arrest them, right?â Decker shook his head. âThat camera cost over two hundred dollars. What did you do with it?â
âItâs in the garage.â
âIt still works?â
âYeah, it still works.â
âCould you get it for me?â Decker turned to Anne, who lived next door to Floyd. âDo you mind if I install it on your roof?â