TRACE EVIDENCE
Chapter One
EVELYN JAMES PARKED THE county's battered station wagon
behind a knot of cars on the side of the road. She pulled her crime
scene kit from the passenger seat and stepped out into a puddle of
slush, slamming a door with the words Medical Examiner's Office
stenciled on the side. Flakes of snow fell at a deliberate pace, the day's
mood darkening by the hour.
A maze of construction signs and sawhorses was spread over the
bridge. Workers in bright orange safety jumpsuits watched the action
as a jackhammer echoed from work at a new plaza on the next
block-a forlorn attempt at urban renewal barely visible through the
trees. Over their branches, the downtown skyline stretched toward
gray clouds. Two marked Cleveland Police Department cars and two
unmarked ones-worn Ford Crown Victorias that screamed cop-were
pulled onto the softened grass. Except for two unlucky rookies
directing traffic, the uniformed guys ... read full excerpt from Trace Evidence ebook
