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Chapter 1

It surprised David Hunter to see all the doors were closed Was he the first one here today? It rarely happened that way He threw his knapsack on the ground and fu out near the bottom, he was sure A loud thu hi inward a few inches He pushed on it, but so blocked the round With every bit of his weight he pressed harder, but the obstruction wouldn’t budge He reached through the gap searching for the light switch with his fingertips The lone bulb that dangled fro shadows in the corners The next gli back in horror A hand, baby soft and s on the botto to cla blood trailed across a body and up the lifeless walls Blow flies charged around the pokey landing with a nasty buzzing

“Oh my God,” David cried out and twisted away For a nized the tight bike shorts As he tried to squeeze through the opening, soed him from behind He braced himself so as not to step forward onto the body and spun to confront the idiot

“What the hell!” David scowled and flexed his fists, barely able to restrain hi the fool He propelled Tiuy stole a look

“Holy shit Is that who I think it is?”

“Yeah” David pulled out his cell and dialed 911

“Do so,” Tim shouted

“Like what?”

The sirens started whirring like a ceiling fan on a hot summer day David looked around as the ambulance closed in speedily down the empty streets of Victoria, BC toward the university The firepit still glowed fro the coals In the distance, the peaks of the Olylistened The din grew louder, blasting his eardrums with intermittent pandemonium

“What are you guys doing?” Jason Marsden, the fore “Let’s get ”

He placed his pal his heels in and res on the boulevard

“There’s been an accident,” he sta your skull caved in an accident”

“Out of h to the now half-opened door He turned away quickly and stureen sickly glow “Did he fall?” The tre out

“Are you kidding?”

The crushing of gravel announced another person racing towards them

“Hey, what’s up?” Nick Jones asked “Am I late?”

A bitterness crept up David’s throat, leaving a sour taste behind his tongue He faltered and felt the blood flee his face and a chill stalk down the back of his neck Jason’s appearance had rey pastiness that matched his flat hair and dull eyes Ti in chaotic gasps, although he tried desperately to hide his fear by greeting his buddy with daring

“Take a look”

Nick reached for the door, but the squawk of a siren stopped him He peered over his shoulder as a vehicle pulled into the yard The howling sound ended, but the blue and red lights continued to rebound between the two s

“Oh, Oh Trouble,” Nickat his buddy

“Wasn’t me!” Tim said

A door slammed, and then another Two detectives dressed in civilian clothes eed

“What’s the problem here?” Detective Constable Danny Na asked as he approached theloosely on his svelte frame If this made him look like someone who could be pushed around, his sharp, brown eyes belied this illusion He was all business His partner, Detective Constable Blake Gunner, leaned against the front fender of the police car, his gun hanging idly at his hip The thin scar on the side of his fleshy face was not sorin was more of a sneer

“I think Robbie’s dead At the bottom of the stairs” David pointed at the entrance, his hand shaking He pulled it back to his side embarrassed by his fear

“What? Spencer?” Nick’s eyebrows shot up

Na seized the handle and opened the door as far as he could He peered in, swinging his torch around the landing “Oh boy” With a hint of a frown, he tilted his chin to his partner “Looks like the guy is dead all right”

Gunner leaned into the vehicle and grabbed the radio phone “We have a homicide Get the crime scene unit here”

He listened for a rim twist to his mouth made him look clown-like “I know This will choke him What can do you?”

Chapter 2

Detective Inspector Williao skies had warmed to a cyan blue He had sauntered across the street from his home and wandered down the ramp to a dock that jutted out a hundred yards into the cove High on the right, a ferry terminal to Mill Bay loomed over hily coloured shack—e and rentals raised his eyebrows as Gibson a the shed He stored his kayak on the middle platform, double-locked and effortlessly accessed It took tentour of the bay

Soft water caressed the wooden surface as he dipped the paddles froh the cal for illusive fare were round of movement Boats with their colourful unfurled sails and intricateon a show for spectat

ors on the shore or lounging in the bars and cafés His muscles worked hard to sustain a constant pace, but the effort kept him warm in the chilly fall air The day was still early, and he wasn’t in a hurry—no work today and his wife, Katherine, was occupied in the greenhouse

His cell phone buzzed, shattering both te and looked in the waterproof pack clipped around his ru”

Gibson clenched his jaw, exasperated by the interruption Dire thoughts invaded his mind Another day spoiled, but he was uncertain by whom The job or Katherine? Damn The office meant disaster had befallen someone—can’t be helped—and Katherinehim palpitations already He wasn’t positive which scenario orse, being on call and getting the call or having to soothe his wife He glanced at the number on the screen

“Gibson”

“Hi, Inspector There’s been a murder at the university,” the dispatcher said, his deadpan voice flat down the line “Sorry You need to coht away”