Page 1 of Cross & Crown

Chapter 1

etective Nick O’Flaherty climbed out of the

Dunmarked car and took the opportunity to stretch

his back as he looked around the chaotic downtown crime

scene. Gawkers were lined up at a checkpoint near a narrow

side-road intersection, even though it was barely sunup. An

ambulance sat with its lights off near the storefront. Uniforms milled around, waiting for the coroner to show up.

“Hey, Tommy,” Nick said as one of the uniforms

approached him. “How’re your girls?”

“Same as always, Detective, running the show. How’s your

first week back off desk duty?”

“Blissfully boring. What’ve we got?” Nick asked him.

“Looks like a smash and grab gone wrong. Old bookstore.

Shop’s all busted up. Two dead.”

“IDs?” Nick asked as he pulled a pair of latex gloves from

his coat pocket.

“One’s the shop owner. We’re still waiting on the ID for

the other. But there’s something else you got to see.”

Nick’s partner joined them, brushing against Nick’s

shoulder. “Something besides the dead bodies?”

The officer nodded. “Good morning, Detective Hagan.

Yes, we got a witness.”

“Hallefuckinlujah,” Nick muttered as he followed.

“Don’t thank your lucky stars just yet.”

1

Nick repressed a groan as Tommy led them toward some

evidence tags in the middle of the road.

“This is where they found him,” Tommy said.

“In the road?” Nick asked.

“On the ground?” Hagan added.

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