Maniacal: A Detective Jade Monroe Crime Thriller Book 1 Read Online Free Page A

I was thankful to have Jack as my partner. He had two fun-loving brothers and really sweet parents. We knew each other’s families well, as close as we were. Someday, he’d make a good husband for a lucky lady.
    We turned left onto Schmidt Road and pulled into the sheriff’s department parking lot. Jack killed the engine, and we exited the car. The sheriff’s department was located in a tan stucco building. Located on the east side of the city, our part of the government complex included the sheriff’s department, jail, morgue, ME’s office, forensics lab, and the technical department. The impound lot sat within a chain-link fence behind our building. The large county courthouse with all the annexes faced south on Washington Street.
    We shook out our wet jackets as we entered the vestibule through the heavy glass double doors. We hung them on the few available hooks just beyond the front reception counter. The glassed-off dispatch area was directly behind that, with a security door leading to the bull pen and our lieutenant’s office. Anyone wanting to visit inmates would sign in at reception and be taken down a hallway to the right and up a flight of stairs to the jail. A visitation room resembling a cafeteria was available for inmates and their guests to spend an hour at a time together, twice a week. Turning left from the reception counter led down a narrow hallway to the stairs. Pictures of previous sheriffs going back to 1922 lined the walls on either side of the hallway. The ME’s office, morgue, crime lab, and tech department were located on the lower level of the building.
    Jack and I turned left. Eight Italian marble steps down and a stainless steel handrail took us to a hallway on the bottom floor. The first room on the right was the crime lab. We pushed through the glass door and saw Kyle seated in front of his computer. He had returned early with Doug and Jason to work on the fingerprints.
    “Got anything?” I asked.
    We grabbed a couple of roller chairs and pulled up alongside him.
    “Yeah, we have a fingerprint match. I was just about to call you. Take a look. This guy has plenty of priors. His rap sheet is extensive for a kid”—he paused to scroll the sidebar—“that’s only twenty years old. Name is Morris King, and he’s been around the block a few times, starting with juvie at age eleven. Petty theft, burglary, battery, and most recently he spent six months in jail for distributing controlled substances, primarily oxy.”
    “Where did he live?” I leaned over Kyle’s shoulder to take a closer look.
    “Milwaukee. Address is in the inner city off North Avenue. Nothing good ever happens in that neighborhood. A lot of gang-related activity like drive-by shootings, robbery, battery, and rape. It’s all par for the course in that area.”
    “Did you figure out what was in the baggie?”
    “Yeah, OxyContin. As far as the body goes, he looks relatively clean on the initial exam, according to Doug. The autopsy hasn’t begun yet, but the kid doesn’t have any track marks or other obvious signs of substance abuse. Toxicology will take a few days.”
    “Hmm… okay. Print out the home address for me. Ready for a drive, Jack? It looks like we’re off to Milwaukee to notify his family.” I checked the time on the analog clock above the bank of computers stationed at the back wall—almost two p.m. “Maybe we can grab something at a drive-through on our way.”
    My cell phone rang just before we headed out. Clayton was calling.
    “Hey, Jade, just checking in.”
    “Clayton. How’s the search going?”
    “Still nothing. Found a few old rusty chunks of metal in one field. Looks to be something that fell off a tractor. Other than that—zilch.”
    “Yeah, sounds like our perp covered his tracks pretty well. You’ve got four deputies out there with you?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Okay, give it another hour or so, then call it quits. Report in to the lieutenant when you get back. Jack and