City of Echoes Read Online Free PDF

stood against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. Matt picked up on those dark eyes again. They were burning with worry the same way they had burned earlier in the night when Matt came to and saw him standing with the EMT by the ambulance.
    He crossed the room, rolling a chair out of the way, and leaned against a filing cabinet. The two men seemed anxious yet subdued. As he thought it through, he guessed that the Robbery-Homicide Division had stepped in and taken the case away from them. Though they wouldn’t have needed to explain, RHD’s reasoning would have been plain enough. Hughes had been a cop, and the story was about to move from the Metro Section of the Times to the front page.
    “Take a seat,” Grace said in an easy voice.
    Matt refused with a shake of his head, staring back at the man and bracing himself for the disappointment. The overhead lights were out, the office lit by only a desk lamp and what filtered in from the squad room through the glass wall. He could hear the rain beating against the windows, the wind gusting outside. Hughes had been his friend and he owed him. He didn’t just want this case. It was more than that. Hughes’s murder cut to the bone.
    “What is it?” Matt said. “What’s happened?”
    Grace glanced at Cabrera, then back at Matt. He was a tall, lanky man in his midfifties with gray hair and a gaunt face, but still in good shape. His eyes matched the color of his hair, his gaze clear and sharp. Matt had liked him the moment they met and shook hands.
    “Tell me,” Matt said.
    Grace pushed a laptop aside and sat down on the edge of his desk. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet but steady.
    “Cabrera told me what happened at the crime scene, Jones. He thinks it’s too personal. He thinks you can’t handle the job.”
    Everything slowed down, the words digging through Matt’s gut until they reached the core and started feeding on it. He was no longer looking at Grace. His eyes were pinned on Cabrera now. He could feel the rage exploding through his body, the tightness in his chest.
    “It’s my case,” he said.
    Grace cleared his throat. “What’s that, Jones? I didn’t hear you.”
    Matt kept his eyes pinned on Cabrera. “It’s my fucking case.”
    “I’ll decide whose case it is,” Grace said. “I’m in charge here. Now take a seat and cool down.”
    Matt didn’t move. “Fuck you.”
    Grace turned sharply. “What did you say to me, Detective?”
    “Nothing. I was talking to my new partner.”
    Grace looked him over. “The way you’re acting, Jones, I think Cabrera might be right. You and Hughes go way back. You’ve got a history, too much history—and after tonight, there’s too much at stake.”
    Matt wasn’t listening, still focused on Cabrera, still unable to dial back his anger. His voice was deep and dark and barely audible.
    “You know what it means to partner up, right, Cabrera? It’s about trust and watching the other guy’s back. It’s about knowing when to take and when to give back. It’s about an understanding. Two becoming one.”
    Grace reached out for Matt’s shoulder. Matt shook him off.
    “I want to hear him say it,” Matt said. “Go ahead and say it, Cabrera. I’m not up to the job.”
    Cabrera looked him over for a while, then took a step closer, shaking his head as if he wanted this to end quickly. “I’ll say it, Jones. Look at you. You’re a mess. You can’t handle this case. You’re too close. Too deep in. You’re not ready to—”
    It happened before anyone had time to even blink. Matt charged forward, seizing Cabrera by the neck and face and slamming the back of his head against the wall. Cabrera let out a groan and tried to break Matt’s grip. When he couldn’t, Matt knocked him back again, holding him still and watching panic well up in his eyes. He could hear Grace shouting. He could feel his supervisor struggling to pull him away. Matt tightened his grip on Cabrera’s forehead, staring at