Laurel Canyon

“This isn’t going to screw up my Fourth of July weekend plans, is it?”

Chadwick grimaced. “My head is still spinning from what I saw inside, Howie,” he said.

Judging from his reaction, Drew picked up the vibe and put on his game face.

“I’ll brief you as we go,” Chadwick said to the RHD detectives. “It’s going to be a long evening.” He handed out vinyl boot covers and latex gloves all around. “Put on your booties and glove up and we’ll get started.”

Drew, Li, and Estrada slipped the covers over the soles of their footwear and pulled on the latex gloves. Compared to Estrada, Drew supposed he was a little underdressed in his polo shirt, jeans, and Merrell hiking boots. But department policy permitted responding to call-outs in casual clothing and Drew had been visiting a friend, not at home with access to a suit, when he took the call from Moreno anyway. It wasn’t something he was worried about.

Drew followed Chadwick inside, followed by Li and Estrada. This was the first high-profile case Drew and Li would work together since getting assigned to Homicide Special. Accustomed to each other’s tactics and idiosyncrasies, they always seemed on the same page. Estrada was the wild card since neither of them had ever worked with the detective before, but Drew assumed he was a competent investigator since he had earned an assignment to the legendary LAPD Homicide Special section.

Drew figured he had seen it all and was prepared for the worst. And the moment he entered the house, he saw it was.