Lauren Read Free Page A

barriers against her. She was a female and female detectives, good ones, were few and far between.
    Some fellow female officers were willing to sleep their way to the top. Therefore, it made it more difficult for her to prove herself and convince the brass she wouldn't take that route.
    She made third grade detective by solving homicides, following the rules, and getting the job done. She owed a lot of it to her dad and Tom McNulty.
    Along the way, she met other detectives who didn't always follow protocol, but they got the job done.
    Her father was a great success and after helping to solve the Mardullo murder case, he was retained by the River Point P.D. to be C.O.
    Police work was in her blood, and she was good at it. No one would get away with minimizing her abilities or claiming she didn't have the instincts or the stomach for it.
    Once again, the police scanner interrupted Lauren's thoughts just as she entered the parking lot at the coroner's office.
    Someone couldn't take the heat and was found dead. They were dropping like flies this week .
    She found a tight parking spot and went inside.
* * * *
    Lauren met McNulty in the hallway, outside the autopsy room. She hated this place, and, no matter what any detective said, she would never get used to viewing a body, especially during or after an autopsy.
    They both placed the material masks over their noses and mouths and prepared to enter the room.
    Dr. Edward Monty was the pathologist assigned to their John Doe.
    The mask didn't do much to hide the smell and both Lauren and Tom held the facemask tighter against their mouths as Dr. Monty went over the findings.
    "So, you're not sure what type of weapon was used?” Tom asked.
    "Not certain right now, but it was something sharp and thin."
    "A razor?” Lauren asked.
    "Possibly. There were also some bloodstains found on the victim's pants, which aren't consistent with the direction his own blood would have taken after the initial cut. I sealed that up and sent it to the lab. There was a piece of thread or carpet fiber that was found across the victim's chest."
    "You mean as if he grabbed the victim from behind and slit his throat?"
    "Exactly. So while he did it, his clothing touched the clothing of the victim."
    "Interesting,” Tom added. They hoped these small clues would lead them to their suspect.
    Lauren went a step further, recalling her training and textbooks she read. “You're talking about transfer or exchange. Right, Doc?"
    "Exactly. As you know, Detective Phelps, the perpetrator will take away traces of the victim and the scene,” Dr. Monty stated.
    "And the victim will retain traces of the perpetrator and may leave traces of himself on the perpetrator. Also, the perpetrator will leave traces of himself at the scene,” Lauren added.
    "Hopefully, we'll get lucky then,” Tom said and they continued the autopsy.
    When the autopsy concluded, they headed into the hallway.
    Lauren was relieved to discard the protective coverings she had to wear.
    "So, gorgeous, I know you said no to dinner, but since it's past lunch time, what do you say we grab a bite together?” Tom asked as they walked through the doors, into the heated street again.
    Lauren gave him a semi-disgusted look.
    He raised his hands up. “What?"
    "Come on, Tom, I'm not exactly very hungry at the moment.” Lauren still tried to get the smell out of her senses as the humid air just seemed to imprison it.
    "You got to eat, kid, and how many times have I told you this is the life of a homicide detective,” Tom teased, knowing the comment would get under Lauren's skin.
    She shot him a dirty look, as they approached her car.
    Every homicide investigator knew that in order to stay neutral and conduct a thorough investigation, one needed to look at the body as forensic evidence. The life and spirit were already gone, and on their way to hopefully meet a higher power.
    The worst thing a detective could do was to look at a victim and the murder as if it were