~ June ~

I stopped at the sign on the corner of Main Street and waited as the cop car with sirens blazing blasted past me.

It was the first time I'd heard the sirens and not immediately felt dread grow from my chest. Of course, as soon as I realized that, the dread came. Then the guilt for not feeling dread.

My uncle was behind bars in the Pelican Bay jail while he awaited his trial. The judge denied his bail because of the Florida home, and he'd soon be sent to a state penitentiary to wait.

Prison.

He'd be in prison soon.

Prison.

Rather than keep going straight like I planned, I turned and followed the cop car. It was easy to do with the lights ablaze. The flashing led me right to them.

A mess of police cars, city and county, parked haphazardly at the city dock. The light house loomed in the distance, and a trio of seagulls squawked as they flew overhead. I sat in my car, examining the scene.

The black Crime Scene Unit van barreled into the lot behind the last car and slammed on its brakes beside the dock. The ambulance to the far right shut off its lights.

Never a good sign.

I turned off my car and hesitated getting out. A tall man with dark hair and a tan trench coat leaned against a cop car staring in my direction.

Detective Anderson. Er... Chief Anderson.

I'd helped get him into that position but no longer knew how I felt about it. We'd barely talked since he'd executed a search warrant against my uncle on the day of Vivi's graduation.

He hadn't apologized for it, which made it worse. It meant he didn't care. Or thought he hadn't been a complete jerk with his timing. Either way, when I saw his face, I wanted to hit him.

A knock on my car window caused me to jerk into the steering wheel as I sucked in a frightened breath.

"What the hell, Bradley?" I said as I rolled down my window.

He pointed at Anderson. "Boss wants to see you."

Yeah, but did I want to see him?

Officer Bradley opened my car door. I guess no one cared what I wanted. Seemed about right.

I stood beside him and closed the door, locking it twice. "High crime around these parts."

Officer Bradley shook his head as he led the way toward Anderson.

"They're bringing out the body now and then we'll have to have her IDed," Anderson said as we approached him.

"A body?" I asked, not making eye contact.

He stuck his hands in his pockets. His police badge hung around his neck. "You didn't know? I figured that's why you came."

"No, I was on my way to get an iced coffee." My mother spent most of her nights cursing at me for ruining her family, so I hadn't been sleeping well. I needed the caffeine more than normal.

"A whale watching cruise boat found her floating about ten feet off the dock. Looks like they might have dumped her further out but not weighed her down enough, and she floated back."

"She?"

He shrugged. "I haven't seen her yet."

A set of wheels vibrated against the uneven pieces of dock as two men maneuvered a stretcher toward the waiting ambulance. A thick black bag joggled with each bobble of the stretcher.

"They'll head to the morgue," Officer Bradley said.

"Might as well have a peek," I said and started that direction.

Anderson grabbed my arm. "You sure? I haven't heard a report on the condition of the body. We don't know how long she's been in the water."

His words "in the water" cycled on repeat. What he meant was they didn't know if she'd become fish food or something worse.

I nodded. "Yeah."

It wouldn't be any easier seeing pictures of it later when I bribed Kelvin at the morgue to get me a copy of the coroner's report.

Anderson unzipped the top of the black bag, exposing a woman's face up to her neck. Wet hair wrapped around her chin, but otherwise she'd been untouched. Her expression looked almost serene except for the thick black thread crisscrossing between her lips, sewing them shut. It cut pulled her lips tight causing splits in the skin.

"Shit," Anderson said under his breath. "That's a mob signature."

"It's Emma," I said, turning away from the body.

Anderson zipped up the bag, hiding her away again. "She was our star witness."

"How do you know her?" Bradley asked, looking a little green in the face.

"I bought a baggie of coke from her in the city park last month," I said and dropped my head. "She sold for my uncle."

"Your uncle's been in jail."

Right. So, who killed Emma and dumped her in the ocean?

END OF BOOK FOUR: Fourth Suspect