Page 4 of Lion & Lamb

Parks felt guilty even though she’d done everything by the book. Damn, this guy was good. “No, Detective,” she assured him. “We kept everyone away.”

“How about the rookie?”

“No, he’s fine.”

Bernstein went back to examining the scene, a sour look on his face.

“What’s missing, Detective?” said Parks. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“A certain piece of jewelry.”

“All due respect, how could you possibly know that?”

“Do me a favor, Parks. Can you push those crowds back a bit more? I want to take a look in relative peace and quiet.”

“Of course.”

“And, oh—the missing piece of jewelry? It’s a Super Bowl ring.”

Five

FOR DECADES,the City of Philadelphia had been promising its hardworking police officers two things: sparkly new headquarters and a state-of-the-art computer system.

Neither had appeared yet. Mickey Bernstein was sitting in the same building, the concrete Roundhouse on Race Street, that his father had worked in years ago. Dad had used an electric typewriter to hunt-and-peck his murder reports, but Mickey didn’t have it much better. He was forced to use a nearly comatose PC with an operating system twenty years out of date.

Eh, screw the things you can’t change,Mickey thought. That was one of many twisted pieces of wisdom from Dad. Mickey cracked his knuckles and got to work.

Philadelphia Police Department / Homicide Division

Case No. 22-9-3275

Investigating Detective: Michael Bernstein

2445 Captain called with a report of a Black male found dead inside sports car in front of art museum.

2450 Notified my partner, Detective T. Mason, #4977, of the murder. She was at least thirty minutes out so I headed to the scene alone. I was already in Center City, just a few minutes away.

0100 Arrived at scene. Briefed by Officer Parks, #6332, who was first at scene. Partner: Officer Sheplavy, #8841. Parks reported a man in a gray hoodie in area at the time of her arrival. Witness took photos with a phone and fled scene. Parks did not pursue. See statement, attached.

0130 Coroner investigator V. Waters arrived at scene. Rolled prints of victim identified as Archie Hughes, DOB 12/27/89. Crime lab tech Wolfinger completed photographs. Victim suffered GSW. No shell casings found at scene.

0200 Requested all surveillance video in immediate vicinity.

0241 Coroner took possession of body. Cleared scene.

0437 Made death notification to Hughes’s wife, Francine Hughes, 10XXXCountry Club Drive, Radnor, PA.

Which brought Bernstein up to the present, 5:00 in the morning. This was going to be a crazy day, with zero chance of sleep in the foreseeable future. He hit thePRINTkey and prayed it worked; Bernstein didn’t want to have to wait for some guy in IT to show up so he could begin the murder book that would define his career.

Small miracle—the pages printed without a hitch.

Bernstein saved the file and got up to find a gallon of coffee. Then he stopped. Sat back down. Cracked his knuckles again.

Better to pave the road now and save himself some grief later.

Six

HIGHLY CONFIDENTAL

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