The World in Reverse Read Online Free

lieutenant?”
    “It wasn’t that. I didn’t like punks pissing on my female cops. So I made an example out of a couple of them. Who knew that they had good lawyers?”
    Johnson raised his brow. “You’re lucky that all you got was a demotion. Shit, from what I heard about the ass beating you gave those guys, you should have gotten shit canned.”
    “I’ll remember to count my lucky fucking stars from now on,” Agosto said, tired of telling the same story ov er and over. It had been months since that incident had happened. It should have been old news by now.
    Johnson could see Agosto’s irritation and chose to move on. “So what good thing did this call ruin for you? Because I was in between a beautiful brunette’s thighs. Damn shame to just get up and leave her.”
    Nicola chuckled. “I was at my kids’ birthday party when I got the call. My wife is pissed,” he said, stepping up on wooden crates to look over into the garbage can. His eyes narrowed on the two twin boys discolored and duct taped with their hands behind their back. “Shit,” Nicola cursed disgusted. Fighting the urge to gag at the sight of the maggots crawling out of one of the boy’s ears, he jumped off the crate back into a large puddle of rainwater and took a deep breath.
    “Not a pretty picture,” Johnson said, ste pping down beside Agosto with a little more grace.
    “Do we know who the vics are yet?” Ni cola asked, spitting.
    “Yeah. A couple reported their kids missing about a week ago. Hunter and Hayden Naples, age 7. They were abducted while riding their bikes down Peabody. They live off Avalon and belong to a Dr. and Mrs. Naples.” He handed Nicola a small container of Noxzema to put under his nose to kill the smell.
    Nicola slipped a little under his nose. “I live on Peabody.”
    “No shit?” Johnson said surprised. It was a pricey neighborhood, far too expensive for a cop ’s salary.
    “No shit,” Nicola answered, shaking his head. He was thinking about the proximity of the crime to his house. Much too close for comfort.
    “So let me get this straight. The chief wants you on this why?” Johnson asked, pulling off his latex gloves as the crime scene investigator finished taking his pictures for the case. “You’re a gangland cop last time I checked.”
    “Organized Crime,” Nicola corrected , trying to focus. He looked over at the dumpster again. “The speculation about this being a serial killer is off in every way. The MO changes every time with every kid. It’s not indicative of a serial killer. It’s not indicative of one person. Right now, I’m in the middle of pulling all the pieces together. But I truly believe that this is part of a large organized crime thing and so does the brass.”
    “But why wouldn’t they sell them instead of killing them here, if it’s OC?” Johnson asked intrigued by Agosto’s theory.
    Nicola huffed. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
    “And not to poke holes in your notion, but why would t hey shit where they eat? The two kids that went missing before these two were from Memphis and were found in Memphis. Normally, if it’s organized trafficking, they cart the kids off to some other city or country for that matter .” Johnson moved out of the way as the coroner prepared to move the bodies out of the trash.
    Nicola stopped talking out of respect for the boys as he watched the men pull the small bodies to the ground. A petite hand fell over, discolored and cut. Johnson made the sign of the cross and mumbled something under his voice. Nicola cursed again.
    Finally, he managed to pull his attention away from the kids. Turning his head from the van, Nicola looked at Johnson. “We’re making national news with this. Every day the outcry from the community gets a lot louder. I don’t plan to step on homicide’s shoes, but what if I’m right? Wouldn’t it be worth it to work together and stop this instead of letting more kids end up like dead?  We’re at