I found the first body my second month on the force. I was assigned to the 15th—the Hawthorn Manor section of the city. There’s a lot of development there nowadays: new condos sprouting up, old Victorians with “good bones” being gutted and remodeled for millionaires, and all sorts of chichi restaurants. Back then, Hawthorn was a pretty rough neighborhood, with as many homes abandoned as occupied, where it would have been easier to buy an eighth than a piece of sushi.
In fact, the coroner wasn’t really sure why she died, except that all her systems had shut down, as if someone just flipped the off switch. In short, the woman was a mystery. Homicide took over and investigated briefly; they gave up after two weeks. For them she was just a vagrant junkie, a lost soul not worth their time.
A 46-page murder mystery novella with some sci-fi adjacent elements. This is the first novella from Foofaraw Press and is available in print, digital, and a limited edition hardcover.