Lost Dog (A Gideon and Sirius Novel Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

understand what you’re going through and won’t cut you any slack. Or there’s that lawyer who’s making you jump through hoops. There could be bill collectors who keep calling with no regard for your situation. Yeah, there’s no shortage of bastards trying to grind you down. I’m sure we can all compile quite a list.
    “I can’t claim to have experienced loss in the same way that all of you have. But I do know that when there’s a hole in your heart, it’s hard to get out of bed. You want to grieve, but you don’t even feel like you have the energy to do that. You’re at the end of your rope, and it feels like you’re swinging from that rope. Maybe you’re trying to keep the bastard that killed your loved one in a cage, while he’s pulling every jailhouse-lawyer tactic at his disposal. I do know it’s a fact that criminals know their rights better than their wrongs.”
    That line, which I’d stolen from somewhere, got a lot of people laughing and nodding.
    “And I know it’s hard not to let the bastards grind you down. You get tired and discouraged, and it seems like it doesn’t matter, because even if you’re doing the best you possibly can, that’s still not going to bring your loved one back. And, of course, that’s the only thing that would make you whole. But you can honor your loved one by not giving up. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been knocked down as long as you’re still getting up.”
    I looked over to Walker, my signal for a reprieve. I had covered all the points on my index card, and then some.
    “Detective Gideon knows something about being knocked down,” said Walker. “He lost his wife to illness not long before both he and Sirius were hurt in the line of duty and had to go through extensive physical therapy. But Detective Gideon didn’t give up. He didn’t let the bastards grind him down. What’s that Latin phrase of yours, Gideon?”
    “Noli nothis permittere deterere.”
    “Words to live by,” said Walker. “And you know what I like about it? You can’t help but sound smart when you go around speaking Latin.
    “Now, I have plenty of questions I want to ask Detective Gideon, but I’m going to have the opportunity to do that later. So if you don’t want me to hog the detective’s time, this is your opportunity to ask your questions.”
    A dozen arms shot up. Usually people ask me about Ellis Haines or want details about the night we arrested him. For once, those questions didn’t surface. The 187 Club wasn’t interested in the voyeuristic aspects of that case; they had more pressing questions of their own.
    I was asked how I handled stress and avoided being ground down by the bastards. I was put on the spot as to whether, as a matter of course, I offered loved ones of the victim advice as to where they could go for help. And then I was put on the spot again when I was asked what advice I gave to loved ones of victims. Two people asked variants of the same question: How could they make sure their cases didn’t slide to the investigative back burner?
    “As I’m sure Detective Walker has told you,” I said, “if you want detectives to keep working the case, you might have to act as an advocate of the deceased. You should think about using social media and devote a website to the victim and what happened to him or her. I also would look into using Twitter or Instagram. The more outlets you have, the better your chance of getting someone to come forward who might know something about your case.
    “Do whatever you can to get the fruit to fall from the tree. Someone out there knows something. It’s possible you can prod the conscience of a reluctant witness. People might have heard something after the fact. Or they might remember an important fact. Keep posting reminders. Use whatever you can to keep the case alive, be it birthdays or memorial dates or any tie-in you can think of. And use LAPD social media if you can. In addition to our official