The Daily Novel

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
It was Friday night. Chloe grabbed her basket of dirty clothes and headed down to the laundry room. It was 11:00 in the evening, but she wasn’t tired. Harry was going to be spending the weekend with her, so why waste precious time doing laundry on Saturday morning? Might as well get it done [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Their hearts weren’t exactly into it, but they’d been booked far in advance and they had to attend. Chloe and Monica were to be at Sak’s Fifth Avenue at 11:00 on Thursday. The fashion show was for Jean Paul Gaultier’s latest fall fashions.
A big media party would be held afterwards at the St. Francis [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Harry, I can’t stand it. Why don’t we go from apartment to apartment and look for her. We can’t sit on our asses—”
“Chloe. Calm down, honey. I know you want to help all you can. But believe me, we’re doing all that is possible. Maybe she took off with a new man or [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The telephone rang shrilly. Chloe answered it breathlessly.
“Hello?” She had run from the bedroom and nearly slipped on that damn throw rug again. It was Bradley James from downstairs. Bradley was inviting the girls to a birthday party thrown for Jeffrey. It would be this Friday evening, and no gifts were required. Could [...]

CHAPTER TWENTY
Ben had been back at the station for only thirty minutes when the fire alarm blared, jarring Ben and his cronies off the couch. Grabbing their gear, they headed for Truck No. 17 and took off like bats out of hell for another address in the Tenderloin district. Sure enough, another antiquated tenement house [...]

CHAPTER NINETEEN
“You got married!” Chloe exclaimed. “Oh my God!” Ben and Monica Fuentes were grinning from ear to ear as Harry and Chloe stood open-mouthed. They had just gotten back from Half Moon Bay, and Ben and Monica had been waiting with the great news. Monica proudly stuck out her well-manicured left hand for Chloe [...]

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

It was Saturday night, and Wallace Carrick was on the prowl. It was his night off. For the fun of it, he decided he’d walk up and down each floor of the apartment house and knock on doors, see who answered. See who his neighbors were.
He was getting bolder as the Caretaker. From [...]

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The weekend had arrived. The drive up to Half Moon Bay was lovely. The morning was drearily foggy but promised to be sunny later on. Harry was glad to get Chloe away for the weekend. The funeral for Steffi would be on Monday. Harry hoped this time away would help her relax and prepare [...]

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
They pulled the bloated body from the water as they had three times before. Harry and Sam and Detective Doyle stood about, watching the paramedics load her onto a gurney. She was nude, dark-haired, with skin as luminous as a pearl.
Something, even from that distance, struck Harry as familiar about the woman, and he [...]

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Harry was hearing that damn O.J. joke for the fourth time. He wished Sam would quit reciting it to anyone who walked into their office.
Sam Mooney and Harry had been partners for the last two years. They had both been assigned to this serial murder case and were sick and tired of it. Around [...]