Redzone Read Online Free PDF Page A

the bill in a screw-top jar and picked up where he’d left off. Lee took the opportunity to chow down.
    The meeting came to an end fifteen minutes later. And as the other detectives began to leave, Jenkins crooked a finger at Lee. “Come with me.”
    Lee followed the deputy chief into what had been McGinty’s office, where she sat on a guest chair as Jenkins circled the desk. He opened a drawer and began to remove items one at a time. “Here you go,” he said. “Your Glock, Smith & Wesson, and your badge. Welcome back.”
    Lee stood to retrieve her belongings. The pistols went into their respective holsters, and the ID slid into a pocket. She felt whole again. “Thanks, boss . . . I appreciate it.”
    â€œOkay,” Jenkins said, as he sat down. “I have some good news for you.”
    â€œWhat? They’re going to close the cafeteria?”
    Jenkins smiled. “No, but almost as good. We’re putting you in charge of the Bonebreaker investigation.”
    Lee felt a sudden surge of excitement. “Really? But what about the conflict of interest? The Bonebreaker killed my father.”
    â€œWe’ll be up front about it,” Jenkins replied. “We’ll admit that it could be a problem but promise to monitor the situation. Imagine the headline: ‘Detective Lee leads the search for her father’s killer.’ The press will love it.”
    All sorts of thoughts flitted through Lee’s mind. The promotion was like a dream come true. She wouldn’t need to look for the Bonebreaker in secret anymore—and she would have a team of detectives to help her. What could be better?
    But there was something about the assignment that didn’t feel right. She’d never been popular with the brass, and she was coming off a suspension, so why give her the equivalent of a reward unless . . . Lee eyed Jenkins. His face was professionally blank. That served to confirm her suspicions. “Yourotten bastard! You’re going to use me as bait! Putting me in charge of the investigation is like giving the Bonebreaker the finger . . . He’ll come for me, and you’ll use a shadow team to nail him. Unless he gets past them . . . And then you’ll find my head and torso next to the Santa Monica Freeway.”
    Jenkins formed a steeple with his fingers. A boyish smile appeared on his face. “So,” he said. “Are you in?”
    Lee stared at him for a moment. Then she nodded. “I’min.”

TWO
    EVEN AS A little girl, Lee had found it difficult to get up in the morning, and nothing had changed. So Lee set
two
alarms and placed both of them well away from her bed. When the first one went off, she managed to muffle the sound by pulling a blanket up over her head. Even so, the second and more shrill alarm was still audible.
    Finally, swearing like a sailor, Lee threw off the bedcovers and hurried to silence both machines. That was when the true extent of her accomplishment struck her. She was running on time! And a good thing, too, since she was supposed to attend a very important meeting at 8:00 A.M. Lee hurried to shower, dress, and leave the apartment.
    Calling her police car “unmarked” was something of a misnomer because it had exempt plates and was therefore a target for graffiti. Lots of it. So, with a small GPS and cell-phone detector in hand, she circled the car looking for trackers and concluded that it was clean.
    After stopping at Maria’s for breakfast, Lee set off for work. Fifteen minutes later, she entered Conference RoomB on the seventh floor of the LAPD headquarters building. There were some familiar faces and a few she didn’t know. And that made sense since Chief Corso had stolen resources from a variety of organizations in order to staff Operation Thunderstorm.
    Lee chose to sit next to Detective Dick Yanty. He was balding, wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses