Murder Inc.: A Sci-fi Thriller: Book 1 Read Online Free PDF

The name struck him in the gut like the revelation of a family secret. All those lost hours reading the name, over and over, looking for the connection. He hadn’t picked up the files at home for three months, and on those lonely nights he pulled out the folders and thumbed through the documents and read until his head ached.
    “Detective?”
    “Sorry, Ronald. That’s all I needed. Let me know if you come across anything else. Thank you.”
    Gutterson hung up, shifting in his seat as his heart palpitated and the ache of old wounds stirred. Janefield Investments. He would never forget the name, even if he never again removed the folder he had stashed away in the bottom drawer of his desk in the study. But it would always be coupled with pain—pain around his suspension, his failure to prove the suicide had been otherwise, and the loss of his wife.
    Could it happen again? Some deep instinct told him this latest suicide wasn’t isolated, that it had a relevance to his investigation. He needed to speak to the Captain.
    Gutterson jumped up, knocking his chair backwards. Momentarily, he didn’t know which way to go.
    “I have to speak with Captain Martinez,” he said to the empty room, and scuttled away, feeling more energized than he had in eighteen months .

Company Apartment Block #11
    Brooklyn, New York
    Tuesday, 6:02 am
     
     
    Tabitha Marks came awake to a shadow standing over her. He’s back, she thought. She had expected it. Scott had come back for revenge after she kicked him out last week. Her immediate reaction was to strike out—instinct born from more than twenty-years of martial arts training. But then a green light flashed and she recognized the stiff form of her robot helper, Stella, a gift from her father when she had left home. Tabitha relaxed, and lay back, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
    “Good morning, Tabitha,” Stella said, stepping back from the bedside. “It’s time for you to start your day.”
    Tabitha tossed the covers back and thanked Stella as the ‘Bot walked from the room. Tabitha stretched, yawned, and glanced around at the empty bed where only yesterday her boyfriend of three years had slept.
    Guilt swept over her and she sat up, momentarily wondering whether ending the relationship had been the correct thing to do. It wasn’t as though it was the only thing she had to deal with. Her father’s ongoing cancer battle was a constant presence. But she had hung on long enough and promised herself a new beginning. Today was the first day in a new chapter of her life. She had broken the shackles of a relationship that had bogged her down for too long. She should be excited and enthusiastic, free from worry about Scott’s next drama. How many times had she accepted his lame apology for arriving home in a drunken or drug-induced state? How often had she woken to the stink of liquor and the bathroom floor covered in vomit? Scott’s admission of his problems and promises to clean up for the hundredth time did nothing to appease her anymore. Both she and her father had supported him: money, counseling groups, and above all, time. But his commitment always waned after only a few weeks. She’d sacrificed Taekwondo training and a critical competition to attend more counseling sessions, but he’d become aggressive and shut down, offering outright refusal. Now, she was free of that. Her caring nature had been usurped by resentment. Scott was not the partner she needed to move forward with her life. Underlying that, she worried that she would never marry and settle down. That’s what had held her back for so long. But she would no longer settle for second best, and if she ended up alone, so be it.
    Tabby felt better, justifying her decision. She climbed off the bed, undressed, and slipped into the shower. As warm water sprayed down onto her, the timer embedded into the tiling started counting down from three minutes.
    She decided that today was the start of her new life. Starting tonight,