CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

CHAPTER ONE

The suicide gate had been easier to get over than hed thought. He supposed they were a bit more difficult to navigate when the bridge reached out over the East River, but the gates here, where the Williamsburg Bridge hovered over Brooklyn, were minimal at best. Having gotten past the gates, he was now free to look down to the street, wondering if the drop would be high enough to end his life. He was pretty sure hed read somewhere that the portion of the bridge that sat over Brooklyn was about one hundred and ten feet from the ground.

That should be enough, right? He hoped so. The only reason hed waited so long to kill himself was because he feared hed be one of those poor saps who would somehow do it wrong. Hed put a bullet in his head only to have it somehow not kill him, forcing him to live the rest of his life in a vegetative state. Or, in this case, hed jump to the street and break both of his legs or fracture his spine, resulting in a life of paralysis.

Hed opted for the street because he felt venturing out over the East River increased his chances of surviving. Really, how hard could water be from just one hundred and thirty feet up? It seemed risky to himand he figured the hard pavement below was a sure thing.

It was two in the morning, so the darkness made the drop below him seem even farther. Hed chosen this time of the day so no nosy assholes would see him and call the police, but now there was a small part of him that regretted it. If this was indeed his final moment on the planet, it would be nice for someone to see it. And right now, the only people he could see was the couple pressed against one of the buildings down below, furiously making out and lost in their own private little world.

He was going to die alone. Hed made the decision to do this but now hated the fact that hed be doing it with no witnesses.

And why is that?