Read Online DARK CITY a gripping detective mystery by CHRISTOPHER M. COLAVITO - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: CHRISTOPHER M. COLAVITO
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caught Knox by surprise, not that he had given any thought to what his partner was up to in his absence. Perhaps, he thought, there was hope for him after all.
Lane sat behind a pile of beige folders, each stuffed with coffee-stained pages. They were familiar, but something Knox wouldn’t mind being overtaken by technology. It was far more efficient for him to ignore a computer screen than a piece of paper someone placed in his hands. His eyes could pretend the screen was a mirage, but the paper was all too real.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Lane looked up from the file he was reading, noting for the first time Knox's return. He held up one finger, pushing off the conversation for a moment, until he could finish absorbing whatever information he was looking at. Knox would have been impressed, if he knew Lane wasn't wasting his time.
“I thought I would be productive, so I went back and started looking through cold cases.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because we don't have any better leads right now, and you never know, there might be something in these files that could spark an idea.”
“Has there been?”
“Well, I haven't seen any other cases that look like this one. There haven't been any other novels come to life lately.”
“I didn't think there were.”
“But I did find something interesting.”
“Do share.”
“There was a case a couple of months back that bears a bit of resemblance. Like ours, there was no physical evidence of any kind, and the best suspect had a rock solid alibi.”
“So why didn't we know about this before?”
“Because it wasn't a murder. It was an attempted murder, or at least that was the claim.”
“Claim?”
“The alleged victim had mental health issues, and the officers who looked into it didn't put much credence in his claims. They thought he made the whole thing up.”
“But you're thinking he didn't.”
“I don't know, but I wouldn't be too hasty to write it off.”
Knox was pained to admit it, but Lane may have found a new lead. His ego hit him hard; excitement of finding new information weighed against the jealousy of not being the one to unearth it. Knox was not normally so crass or shallow, but he was not comfortable being shown up by his own partner. Solving the case should have been the most important thing, regardless of how it happened, but Knox found himself unable to praise his colleague.
“We should keep looking into the past until the tech guys are able to break into that drive. Maybe going backwards is the best way to move forward.”
“So you're not going to say it?”
“Say what?”
“That I may have found something. That I did good.”
“You did your job. You don't get a medal for doing that.”
“Well, actually . . .”
Detective Knox shot Lane a look, one that warned him that any goodwill earned would be forfeited if he insisted on traversing that road. Lane understood, and let the words fall apart, ceding authority back to Knox.
“There will be plenty of credit to go around when we solve this thing, but until then, we need to keep our egos in check and get the work done. Believe me, there's danger in letting yourself get ahead of the evidence.”
“You sound like you know this from experience.”
“Didn't I ever tell you the story . . .?”
Chapter 12
The Graveyard Shift
Years had passed, enough time that Detective Knox did not recognize himself in his own memories. He could recount the scenes, his senses overrun by the vivid imagery, but it felt like a life he hadn’t led. Perhaps, he thought, it was the product of a fragmenting mind, which was willing to fracture a psyche in order to bury the regrets that threatened to haunt him for the rest of his life. Regrets were nothing new, he had lived with them ever since he understood the ramifications of free will, and he was able to sleep at night with a clear conscience, because he had done everything in his power to forget the one sin he could not be
Lane sat behind a pile of beige folders, each stuffed with coffee-stained pages. They were familiar, but something Knox wouldn’t mind being overtaken by technology. It was far more efficient for him to ignore a computer screen than a piece of paper someone placed in his hands. His eyes could pretend the screen was a mirage, but the paper was all too real.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Lane looked up from the file he was reading, noting for the first time Knox's return. He held up one finger, pushing off the conversation for a moment, until he could finish absorbing whatever information he was looking at. Knox would have been impressed, if he knew Lane wasn't wasting his time.
“I thought I would be productive, so I went back and started looking through cold cases.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because we don't have any better leads right now, and you never know, there might be something in these files that could spark an idea.”
“Has there been?”
“Well, I haven't seen any other cases that look like this one. There haven't been any other novels come to life lately.”
“I didn't think there were.”
“But I did find something interesting.”
“Do share.”
“There was a case a couple of months back that bears a bit of resemblance. Like ours, there was no physical evidence of any kind, and the best suspect had a rock solid alibi.”
“So why didn't we know about this before?”
“Because it wasn't a murder. It was an attempted murder, or at least that was the claim.”
“Claim?”
“The alleged victim had mental health issues, and the officers who looked into it didn't put much credence in his claims. They thought he made the whole thing up.”
“But you're thinking he didn't.”
“I don't know, but I wouldn't be too hasty to write it off.”
Knox was pained to admit it, but Lane may have found a new lead. His ego hit him hard; excitement of finding new information weighed against the jealousy of not being the one to unearth it. Knox was not normally so crass or shallow, but he was not comfortable being shown up by his own partner. Solving the case should have been the most important thing, regardless of how it happened, but Knox found himself unable to praise his colleague.
“We should keep looking into the past until the tech guys are able to break into that drive. Maybe going backwards is the best way to move forward.”
“So you're not going to say it?”
“Say what?”
“That I may have found something. That I did good.”
“You did your job. You don't get a medal for doing that.”
“Well, actually . . .”
Detective Knox shot Lane a look, one that warned him that any goodwill earned would be forfeited if he insisted on traversing that road. Lane understood, and let the words fall apart, ceding authority back to Knox.
“There will be plenty of credit to go around when we solve this thing, but until then, we need to keep our egos in check and get the work done. Believe me, there's danger in letting yourself get ahead of the evidence.”
“You sound like you know this from experience.”
“Didn't I ever tell you the story . . .?”
Chapter 12
The Graveyard Shift
Years had passed, enough time that Detective Knox did not recognize himself in his own memories. He could recount the scenes, his senses overrun by the vivid imagery, but it felt like a life he hadn’t led. Perhaps, he thought, it was the product of a fragmenting mind, which was willing to fracture a psyche in order to bury the regrets that threatened to haunt him for the rest of his life. Regrets were nothing new, he had lived with them ever since he understood the ramifications of free will, and he was able to sleep at night with a clear conscience, because he had done everything in his power to forget the one sin he could not be
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