Page 28 of The Broken Places

The doctor smiled; it started slowly and then widened. “Wonderful, Jett. Wonderful.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lennon’s feet pounded on the wet sand, the dawn a bare gray slip on the horizon. For whatever reason, she’d hardly gotten a wink of sleep, tossing and turning all night until she finally decided to just get up and start the day, even though it was still dark outside. Her phone, tucked into the pocket at the back of her leggings, started buzzing, and she retrieved it as she came to a slow stop.

She glanced at the name on the screen before answering. “Lieutenant.” Déjà vu descended, or the disturbing thought that she had found herself in her own version ofGroundhog Day. Only one where a serial killer was on the loose and she’d have to hunt him into perpetuity.

“Gray, we have a situation over on Ellis Street. It seems like a straightforward overdose, but there’s some product with a purplish tint at the scene. How soon can you be there?”

Her eyes moved to the parking lot beyond the sand where her car was parked. Déjà vu indeed. Only last time she’d experienced almost this exact same scenario, she’d gone home and showered and changed, not out of professionalism but because she’d been hoping someone else would arrive before her at what sounded like a gory triple homicide. If she went home now and changed and showered, it’d take her over an hour to get there. “I’m on my way. Give me thirty,” she said.

“Great. Thanks, Gray. Keep me updated.”

She jogged up the short set of steps that led to the lot, removed her things from the trunk, pulled a hoodie on, and got in her car.

It took her twenty-seven minutes to drive from the beach to the Tenderloin. Lieutenant Byrd had texted her the exact address as she’d driven, and when she pulled up, there were already a couple of patrol cars double-parked at the corner, lights turning. The sun was just beginning to rise, but it was a foggy morning, and so the streetlights offered the only real illumination. She clipped her badge on her leggings and strapped her small holster on, covering it with her hoodie.

She didn’t recognize the officers standing at the corner in front of the short wall that separated the sidewalk from the stairs that led down to a Muni station, and so she introduced herself when she approached. The two young men both gave her an odd look because of her attire but identified themselves as Boddie and Meads. “What’s the situation?” she asked.

“The owner of the corner store right there”—he pointed next to him—“called in two dead bodies in a tent just up the street.” He pointed to the small grouping of three tents situated about fifty feet down the one-way street that they had blocked off with their car. “We looked in the yellow one on the end, and sure enough: one male, white, one male, black, both deceased. And there are pills scattered around, and something purple in a baggie. We didn’t touch anything, just called it in.”

Shit.“Okay, thanks. What about the other two tents?” She nodded to the two sitting to the right of the yellow one.

“Unoccupied as of now. Just a bunch of junk in both. And they smell like shit.”

She couldn’t hold back the ick face. “The store owner, he’s inside?” she asked, nodding over to the store.

“Yeah. A Mr. Allen Cheng. He’s the only one there.”

Lennon nodded, turning toward the corner store with signs and ads covering the two front windows. She walked the short distance and pulled the door open. There was an older man at the register, and whenLennon entered, he stood, rounding the counter. “Are you with the police?” he asked in a heavy Chinese accent.

“Yes. Hi. Mr. Cheng? I’m Inspector Gray. I’m going to go check out the tent but wanted to stop by here first and get a little more information.”

“Yes, okay. Good.”

“You discovered the two men this morning?”

“Yes. I open the store every morning at four thirty. If the sandwiches pass the expiration date, I bring them around to whoever is awake. I don’t feel right, tossing food when there are hungry people right outside my door. It’s not right. So I get a ticket, so okay.”

“No one’s going to ticket you, Mr. Cheng.” People like him were few and far between. The people living hand to mouth in this community were lucky to receive his kindness. “So you went to the tents up the block? To see if anyone inside wanted some food?”

“No. There was a man sleeping on a bench near the tent. No shoes. No coat. I set one of the sandwiches next to him so he would find it when he woke up. That’s when I saw the blood.”

Dammit. So there was blood. The lieutenant hadn’t mentioned blood. A small cramp knotted in her lower stomach.

“So I thought maybe someone is hurt,” Mr. Cheng went on, “needs medical care. I used my phone flashlight and pushed the flap aside. It was partway open already. And I see the two ... dead. I can tell they’re dead. Still. One had his eyes open.” He gave a small shiver. “Drugs on the ground. It’s always drugs.”

“Okay, Mr. Cheng. Thank you for calling us. Will you be here for a little bit in case I have any more questions?”

“Yes, I will be here.”

Lennon thanked him and left the store, taking gloves from her pocket. She started to head down the block toward the tents, and one of the officers called out, “Do you want one of us to come with you?” She did. She really did. In fact, she didn’t want to check inside that tent at all. Not now, not in the dark, but also not in the light. She wantedto stand behind one of those officers as he checked, and it made her feel pitiful and unworthy of the badge she carried. She should have gone home and changed after she got the call, not only to stall but because right now she felt about as capable as Workout Barbie walking toward a double homicide, and she was dressed the part.

“No, it’s okay,” she said to the officer. “I’ll check it out and be right back.” She pulled the gloves on slowly as she made the walk. The people who’d placed their tents in the spot they had up ahead had likely done it because there wasn’t a streetlight too close by. They wouldn’t be kept awake by a bright light shining in their makeshift home, and if they were engaging in activities that they’d rather not advertise, then that worked in their favor too.

A car backfired up the street. In the quiet of the morning, it startled Lennon, and she gave a small jump.Great.Just what she needed to feel even more on edge.

She walked slowly toward the small grouping of tents, past the first and second, where she saw vague shadows moving on the nylon fabric. The morning was still dim, and the streetlight the officers were standing under, along with their flashing lights, were swallowed up by the fog, and so it gave the impression that the shifting light might be coming from apparitions inside. She’d been told they were unoccupied, but even so, a shiver went down her spine and the tiny hairs on her arms stood up.

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