Page 2 of Sinner's Storm

Lifting the yellow and black crime scene tape I readied myself for what I was about to see. The chief hadn’t given me any details. He understood that I had a preference for forming my own conclusions instead of relying on someone else’s opinion.

Reaching into my jacket, I pulled out my earbuds, placing them in my ears. Every detective had their own way of investigating a crime scene, and I had mine.

“I’m here.”

“About time.” Norwich exhaled, gearing up for a full-on rant.

Before he could utter another word, I held up my hand. “I need everyone to clear the scene.”

“We don’t have time for your idiotic ritual, Calloway. This is the third body from that fucker. We need to get Forensics in here and let them do their job.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t know that. Now let me do my job,” I said flatly, my eyes immediately scanning the area for any irregularities. It was a dark alley. I knew to expect certain things like trash, urine, needles, maybe even a homeless vagrant or two. It was the things that shouldn’t be there that I was looking for. Those were the things I needed to pay close attention to.

Norwich sneered at me with contempt. There was no love lost between me and Norwich. New to the department, he wanted my job. Made no bones about it. He was a good detective, but nowhere near my caliber. He lacked empathy and was more concerned with his closing rate than actually doing his job.

But what he wanted most was a place on my Special Crimes team.

For the last three months, I’d been tracking a set of killings that were eerily similar. The only connection between the murders was the trident burned into their bodies.

Walking over to the body curled up in a fetal position on the cold concrete, I kneeled down next to her, closing my eyes. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, sweetheart. I will find out who did this to you and make them pay, if it’s the last thing I do. Rest now. I’ve got you.”

After making the cross over my chest, I opened my eyes and got to work.

Chapter One

Delany

Across town at Calloway’s Bar & Grill,

“Will you relax?” Finley groaned as I checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time since I’d left my apartment. She didn’t understand. This was hard for me. I needed to be home with my daughter. She’d been sick the last few days and while she was on the mend, she needed me more than I needed my monthly girls’ night out.

I loved my girlfriends. I really did. Enjoyed getting away for some adult time, but none of them had a sick two-year-old at home. None of them had to pay a babysitter an exorbitant amount of money so they could have a couple hours of adult time. More importantly, none of them was a single parent, struggling to make ends meet. Just the thought of handing over a hundred bucks to the babysitter at the end of the night churned my stomach. I should probably use that money for food or to pay the electric bill I was late on... again.

We’d all been friends since elementary school. Grew up in the same neighborhood until my dad transferred fire stations to Arizona. I’d like to think had he known what would happen, he would have stayed in New York. I was almost seventeen when I moved back, finding myself in the same neighborhood that held so many fond memories, including those of my childhood friends. There wasn’t anything we didn’t know about each other. Closer than sisters, my girls had my back when I found myself pregnant shortly after a one-night stand.

For the life of me, I still couldn’t remember that night. I’d just lost my last remaining relative and didn’t know what to do. I wanted to forget everything, and my friends were happy to oblige. Apparently, I succeeded, because when I woke up naked the next morning, all I found was a note saying, ‘Thank you for the good time.’

That was it.

No name.

No number.

Nothing.

When I found out that I was pregnant, I knew I was going to be on my own. With no way to locate or contact the father, I squared my shoulders and moved on.

That’s where my girls came in.

The second I told them the news, they rallied and stood by me every step of the way. None more so than one of my closest friends, Ares Malpas, who, as always, was running late.

There were five of us.

Finley James was the so-called ringleader of our rag-tag group. The party diva. The one friend to call when any of us wanted to have a good time. Finley was always up for some fun. Finley was currently in her no dating mode. She got like that after a break-up, but never stayed that way for too long.

Next was Ares Malpas. The ball buster. Generally laid back and reserved, Ares could go from silent to violent in a nanosecond, and God help anyone who got on her bad side. Ares was currently in a relationship with some jag-off that we all hated, Preston Travers, of the Park Avenue Travers’. None of us understood that relationship and didn’t expect it to last long.