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Horrific, of course But aht compared to Veck'sown father - who'd done that in a three-uys like Kroner

And it was precisely that lineage that had gotten Veck on the horn to not just the ambulance, but his partner at Homicide

As much as he hated to admit it, he was his father's son: He had come to kill Period And the fact that his victi but a socially acceptable filter over the real picture

At its core, this had not been about avenging those dead girls

And for fk's sake, he'd known this night was inevitable All his life, the shadow had been behind hi him toward this very scene of destruction So itHis other half had finally taken over, and hadn't ceded control of the wheel until the violence was done The proof? So, maniacal and satisfied

Yeah, well, get your jollies on now, he thought at the stuff Because he wasn't going to let himself follow too far in his father's footsteps -

The sounds of sirens bubbled up froot louder, fast

Apparently, he wasn't the only person who heard the approach A man burst out of one of the motel rooms, and raced around the hood of a ten-year-old beater that had open latticework for quarter panels Kind of tough for hi his pants on at the same time

Next up on the flee-parade was a rough-looking wo down her miniskirt

Their screeching departures ood and empty when the ambulance bumped in off the road and halted in front of the office

As the passenger-side lass door, Veck whistled loud and clear "Over here!"

Theinvolved and ducked back inside But the ed over and the a lot And as they zeroed in on him, Veck became utterly calm - dead calm As untouchable as the cold, distant ht

Fuck his dark side He had done this And he was going to make himself pay

Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly was going like a bat out of hell in her unh the backwoods of Caldwell's scruffy edges As she rode the twists and turns of Route 149 at a dead run, the fact that she was on her way to a crih speed: She drove fast Ate quick Hated to wait in lines, wait for people, wait for information

If she could just avoid hitting a deer before she got to the Monroe Motel & Suites -

When her cell phone went off, she had it to her ear before the second ring "Reilly"

"Detective de la Cruz"

"Hey Guess where I'ht now?"

"Who called you?"

"Dispatch Your partner's on s to do - so when he dials in for an aht, and says he doesn't knohat happened to the victi"

Unfortunately, itwas so fa Hoainst a possible suspension for coldcocking a paparazzo who'd tried to sneak a pic of a victim

That was child's play to this h

"How'd you find out?" she asked

"He woke me up"

"How'd he sound?"

"I' to be honest"

"You always are, Detective"

"He sounded just fine Complained of a headache and loss of memory He said there was a lot of blood and that he was one hundred percent sure that the victim was David Kroner"