Chapter ONE
DETECTIVE MITCHO’Neill cautiously navigated the unmarked car through the throng of people lining the street until he couldn’t move forward any farther. He parked, threw on the hand brake, and flicked the ignition. He sighed as he looked at his partner, Ross Sloane. Ross didn’t look happy and raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. Another day, anotherdeath, another gawking crowd. The same shit.
A couple of heads turned at the slam of the car doors, but most onlookers were too enthralled with the action to pay much attention to their arrival. Mitch flicked the fob and pocketed his keys before making his way to the front of the gathering. Mitch and Ross ducked under the blue-and-white police tape that held back the small crowd and marked offthe entrance to the crime scene, and the uniformed officers greeted him by name. Unfortunately there’d been too many scenes like this lately for them not to be able to put a name to a face.
“Detective O’Neill.”
He nodded at the young cop. “Jones. Any updates?”
“Homicide are in the building with the forensic team. The crime scene examiner and forensic pathologist just arrived.”
There wasn’tmuch more to say, so Mitch nodded and headed in.
The factory was a single sprawling building set in the center of a large industrial block. Seven-foot-high chain-link fencing surrounded the site, except for the wide gap that used to be secured by the gates. The gates were now hanging open, the left one attached only by a single hinge and both bent out of shape.
Mitch nodded at the mangled metal.“Looks like it was rammed.”
“Yeah. The question is whether it was before the shooting or after,” Ross said.
“Are you thinking a robbery gone wrong?”
“Could be. Although if it is, it doesn’t fit the pattern we’re looking for.”
“Maybe they’re expanding their operations.” Mitch didn’t think it likely, but it couldn’t be ruled out. “What do they do in this factory, anyway? Got any idea?”
“Nota clue. Guess we’ll find out when we get inside.”
The huge sliding doors of the corrugated iron building were open. Mitch and Ross stepped inside. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the dimness of the interior, which was in direct contrast to the bright summer’s day outside, he moved forward. It wasn’t hard to know where to go next.
The vic lay on the dirty concrete floor, not far from the entrance.Mitch acknowledged his colleagues who were working around the body and stepped as close as he could get. Half the guy’s head was missing, but there was enough of his face left for an ID. Even if Mitch hadn’t been able to identify Russell “the Rabbit” Hutchins from his facial features, he would have recognized his affiliation from the tattoo on his upper arm, made visible due to the filthy sleevelesstank top. The usual black leather jacket with its distinctive patch was missing.
“Fuck,” Mitch muttered under his breath.
Paolo Rossi, crouched next to the body, looked up from where he’d been writing in a notepad. “One of yours?”
“Uh-huh. Russell Hutchins.”
“Figured he was one of the Soldiers, which is why we got in contact.”
“Yeah, the tat gives it away. What can you tell me?”
Paolo stoodand pocketed the notebook. He was one of the best homicide detectives around, so at least Mitch knew the case was in good hands. “Looks like it happened sometime late last night or in the early hours of this morning. Still waiting on the crime scene examiner to give a more accurate time. Nobody heard anything, so the body wasn’t found until first thing when the 7:00 a.m. shift workers turned upfor work.”
Mitch glanced farther into the building. “What do they do here?”
Paolo shrugged. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with the owners yet, but something to do with manufacturing prefabricated metal.”
“What the fuck has that got to do with the Soldiers anyway?” Ross looked as baffled as Mitch felt.
“Who knows? Perhaps there’s something else going on here besides manufacturing. Has thisplace been flagged for anything suspicious?” Mitch pulled his collar away from his neck; it was still early, but it was heating like a sauna in the confines of the giant tin can of a building.
“Nothing yet, but we’re still looking, so I wouldn’t rule it out yet.”
“Maybe it was just a case of wrong time, wrong place?” Paolo suggested.
Mitch snorted. “Yeah right! There’s no such thing as coincidencewhere these guys are concerned. There’ll be some reason for the Rabbit to have been here. We just need to work out what it is.”
“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to it,” Paolo said. “I’ll let you know what we come up with once the forensics are complete.”
