Chapter 1

Samantha gently pulled the hair away from the victim's face, her heart thumping. The face was set in a grotesque, distorted expression of fear and pain. At ten that morning, they had sat opposite each other at the precinct.

Dianna Poleski was a young woman who was on the way to the top of her profession; a junior sales executive in the broker business where big bucks were earned by smart young brains. Savvy kids who carried a diary full of info on powerful company execs for future use. Poleski lived on the edge of the affluent movers and shakers but still had to make ends meet. After their interview, Samantha knew the young woman was ‘on the way.’

“Who found the body?” She paused, looking down at the pool of blood as she reached into her coat for surgical gloves.

Wrendt sat on his haunches next to Samantha as she bent over to unfasten the locket. “Some guy walking home from a nightclub. He took a detour to take a leak. He’s making a statement downtown.”

Samantha examined the wound. The weapon had cut through the neck so deeply that on falling, Poleski’s head had been thrown backwards, exposing a lump of windpipe protruding from the ripped flesh. 

“There’s blood spatter on the wall a few feet back,” commented Wrendt. “Looks like a frenzied attack. What do you make of it, boss?”

Samantha made no comment and closed her eyes. Wrendt stood up and looked away. He had learned not to interfere when his boss had these ‘strange moments’ as he called them.

A fleeting glimpse of two figures disappearing quickly into the darkness flashed through Samantha’s mind’s eye, catching the scene briefly before blurring back to normality. One character was tall and heavily built, wearing a hat. The other was more memorable. It was the slight figure of a woman.

“We’re looking for a man and a woman,” was all she replied.

As they walked along the alley, Samantha recalled the conversation that morning.

***

The young woman looked smart but dressed in unbranded fashion. Her blonde hair sat neatly on her shoulders and there was just a hint of make-up that gave her a pretty, fresh look.

Samantha showed Dianna Poleski into her office.

“I’m Detective Rider. My Captain asked me to see you. I assume this is to do with a homicide?”

Poleski sat with hands in lap looking a little embarrassed. “Well…not exactly…I mean…it hasn’t happened yet. It might not happen at all…I don’t know, but I thought I’d come and tell someone.”

“Tell me what.”

“I overheard my boss tell his secretary that someone knew too much about their insider trading and would have to be silenced.”

“Names?”

“Anton Bancroft and Linda Smit…I think they were talking about me.”

“It’s probably nothing, but I’ll take some details,” smiled Samantha.

*** 

“Jacob, you take Bancroft,” said Samantha, reaching the car. “I’ll look for Linda Smit.”