Dead Broke (Lana Denae Mystery Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

were bitter rivals—almost enemies; the way they went after each other. Even those who knew them sometimes had to wonder.
    But it was all in good fun. The three detectives got along extremely well. Lana trusted them completely, and the feeling was mutual, despite the way they carried on.
    “You guys want to join me for some coffee?” Lana asked, once the two were close enough to avoid shouting. “I’m buying.”
    Following her into the break room, Jamie laughed. “I thought the Bureau paid for the coffee here.”
    Damien laughed. “You’d think the money came out of Captain Hayden’s own pocket, the way he complains about how much we go through.”
    Pouring herself a cup, Lana glanced around the room in mock alarm. “Don’t let him hear you say that; he’ll have you back in a patrol car by tomorrow morning.”
    “Good thing he’s not here then, huh?” Jamie said.
    “Where is he?”
    Jamie shrugged. “Said he had a meeting and would be back tomorrow. We only talked to him a few minutes before he took off.”
    Damien took a sip of the scalding brew and said, “Did you hear there was another jumper last night?”
    Lana gave him a curious look. “Off the Steel Bridge again?”
    Taking another drink, Damien nodded.
    “What’s that make, five now?”
    “Six,” Jamie said. “In just over two weeks.”
    The Steel Bridge that crossed the Willamette River in downtown Portland had become the apparent site of choice for anyone with suicidal tendencies. Police had discovered the first body, that of twenty-eight-year-old, Chris Tolley, a couple of weeks earlier. The next victim, Gordon Pickney, was a salesman in his mid-forties. Since then, every three or four days, another jumper made the news: Jenna Li, Vince Edgerson, and Brittany Westbrook. The previous night’s jumper was a school bus driver, Jorge Martinez.
    In a city known for roses and cultural art, the tragic suicides had naturally taken center stage. The dark epidemic quickly became the talk of the town and the latest big local story, picked up by all the TV stations in the area.
    “We’ve been assigned to the case,” Damien announced.
    “Little late to the game, aren’t you?”
    “Yeah,” Damien agreed. “Batting cleanup again. I think it’s just to satisfy the interests of the life insurance companies. A couple of the jumpers had a pretty hefty policy and most life insurance companies don’t pay for suicide. Their family members are pressing for an investigation.”
     “Any witnesses this time?”
    “None that have come forward.”
    “Have you asked around?”
    “You trying to poach our case?” Jamie spoke up.
    “No, just curious. I would’ve thought you’d have already tried to find any witnesses. Six jumpers in the middle of a big city? Someone would had to have seen something.”
    “Hey! Give us a break!” Jamie protested. “We were just given the case this morning. We’re planning on canvassing the area later today. There are a couple of apartment complexes, Rose City Apartments and the Commodore Center, that could provide a bird’s eye view. Thought we’d question the tenants on the side that faces the bridge, see if anyone saw anything.”
    From the doorway, a female voice broke in on the conversation. “You two making excuses again?”
    All three in the room turned to see Sophia Davis, the department psychiatrist.
    “We’re discussing the Steel Bridge jumpers,” Lana told her. “There was another one last night.”
    “Early this morning actually,” Damien said.
    “Oh, that’s so sad,” Sophia said, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
    “Sad for the families,” Lana said. “I’m not too distraught over someone who took their own life.”
    “Well, I see these people as revealing their deep emotional needs and opening up to their true inner self. Their action is a cry for help.”
    “You know they jumped off the bridge, right?” Lana said dryly. “Little late to help them now.”
    “Oh, but not just any