Excerpt: Spectacularly Generic Working Title

There was always the possibility of an untraceable poison. They would have to wait for the pathology reports. The problem with them was the time it took to get the results back. By the time a pattern was found, the perp could strike again. She’d have to review the other cases again. She sighed as she resolved herself to another night of dry reading.

That’s when she heard the unmistakable sound of flesh and bone impacting something hard and stationary.

Half a second later she had her Glock out of her holster and her back against the nearest wall. She listened carefully, the adrenaline beginning to flow through her body. She could hear what she thought was fighting a half-block or so away, but there was something odd about it. She could make out grunting, sounds of effort and exertion, cries of pain, but no gunshots, no sounds of impacts indicating punches or kicks, just the occasional body hitting the ground or wall or similar. Her curiosity peaked, she began to methodically make her way toward the sounds. It took a while, but she finally found an obscured path into a largish courtyard area she hadn’t noticed before.

She took a deep breath and looked around the corner.

And nearly dropped her gun.