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The story, characters, and incidents mentioned in this publication are entirely fictional. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Nicholas Kashak grew up here in San Pedro. He had dreamed his whole life of ge ing out of the sma working cla neighborh d at the south end of los angeles.
He even left once. Moved to Long Beach, got a job at the port. it was hard work and the hours were long.
That’s where he first got introduced to sp d.
A co-worker noticed Nicholas had b n stru ling to k p up with his work and o ered it to help him out.
When he was living at home, Nicholas was t scared of ge ing caught by his parents to think about ge ing high.
But now he was more wo ied about being out of a job.
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
The dope helped Nicholas k p up with work, but--as it turned out--he couldn’t k p up with the dope. it wasn’t long before he was using on more than just his work days.
Find anything g d tonight?
Nicholas' drive for work was overtaken by a n d to get high. The a iction cost him his job and forced him back home with his parents.
Back to Pedro.
Nicholas couldn't stand to s the disa ointment on his parents' faces. He had to leave. Before long, he was out on the str ts.
For Murph there was nothing more important than the job. He lived, ate, breathed Detective work.
morning, murph.
morning, pete.
And what case was this? Do you have a D.R. number? I don’t think I have a case like that…
Congratulations, sir. You hit the big one.
lucky me...
A employ s at Murph’s agency were given a co emorative “cha enge coin” for every five years of service.
Murph never put much stock in them. After a , you got them just for existing.
25 years of service. Had it rea y b n that long? At 52 years old, 25 years meant eligibility for retirement. Murph was o icia y past his expiration date.
Got something else for you t0o. Some kids found a body on the beach in Pedro. Sounds like it's b n out there awhile. Just the case for an OG Detective like yourself.
Any idea about the guy who died?
Can you go over this one more time? What was it you were ca ing about?
Oh, I gue it's some transient. He’d b n reported mi ing by FAMily or something.
Homele guy found at the bo om of a cli …thanks, L.T. How do we know he didn’t just fa in some drunken stupor?
We , either way , someone n ds to l k into it. I n d you guys to head right out.
Wow… they hung up!
I’ leave you two to it.
Pete, you hearing this?
Even if it’s a murder, who’s l king to ki a transient?
Another homele person? Probably no humans involved.
I can’t believe it either, Murph.
You ask someone a couple simple questions, you know--to investigate.
That’s what I do, investigate. And they go and hang up on you!
No, I’m talking about this new case. Transient dead in san Pedro. Lieutenant Campbe says we go a l k at it as a murder.
Always sad to s a person taken before their time…
Let’s s the facts before we f l t so y for the guy.
We , partner, you know I always take a mid-morning co break with the girls in records. Can’t mi my “Barnes and Drew” reruns. But then I can head down.
The Lieutenant wants us out there ASAP. Probably time for you to invest in some streaming services or something.
“Barnes and Drew” is a co unal experience, Murph. You know that.
This wi be a nice case to break in Ru o and Perez. At least they can go through the motions and s how to run a murder investigation.
Fresh bl d.
Detectives Marco Ru o and Ashley Perez had just b n selected for rea ignment to the Ro ery/Homicide Detail. it was an honor for any Detective to be transfe ed to what was known as the “A Team,” the most coveted position in the Division. Murph considered it to be be er than a promotion to supervisor.
Do you have any cheaters or anything for filings? I can never figure out how many copies of everything I n d.
I got a checklist here somewhere…D.A.’s o ice can never make up their minds anyways. they always want a di erent amount. I don’t know why we can’t just do everything electronica y.
You get the email I sent you this morning? We got a stack of ro eries piling up that I wi n d you to start working. Suspend them, solve them, whatever.
Just get them o the queue.
you got it. sounds g d, sir.
But a that is going to have to wait. First, let’s go s a dead guy.
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
it wasn’t surprising to find Sgt. Lewis at the crime scene. Some people just had a way of being around when anything big ha ened.
Murph had worked most of his car r with Lewis. But where Murph had pursued Detective work, Lewis never left the field.
Murph didn’t put much stock in Lewis’S investigative ability.
What do you think, Joe? Rea y a murder or just another jumper?
The guy had only worked basic patrol and in the tra ic division before promoting.
We , I’m glad these youngsters are l king around. Some of the patrol guys can’t be bothered…
One of the patrol guys found what he thinks is some dried bl d over by that trash can.
Body is pre y banged up…hard to te , but could be.
Sometimes I don’t know what would be worse--that the guy was ki ed or that he went and ki ed himself.
At least we can comfort ourselves with the fact we have one le transient to deal with.
I’ never understand how someone could end another’s life. This guy was sti young. he could have turned things around.
A lifetime in law enforcement and Lewis sti had a bl ding heart. He never wanted to believe how screwed up people were.
I gue suicide’s worse. No physical pain is equal to the pain a man f ls when he no longer s s his own worth. We , we have to do something about it, either way.
Hey, Murph, turns out I knew the guy! is that so?
I got him on a four-fiVE-nine case couple years back. He was doing pharmacy burgs.
Come on, sir, I only t k a usable quantity. it’s not like we were going to se the stu .
Who’s “we”?
He told me he had a girlfriend at the time, but I never met her. I bet if we can find her, she might know what was up with him.
it wasn’t as though Ashley had not found su e . She had just spent the last four years working in the department’s elite undercover division.
Ashley Perez wasn’t surprised that Marco had a lead to fo ow. Things always s med to come easy for him. Ashley had always given 110% to her work. No one was more meticulous. And yet Marco, the most reckle cop she knew, somehow had a lead.
it was enough to make you wonder if he rea y got his intel on the up-and-up.
“The Plainclothes Boys”
they kept their name even when ashley was on the team.
Why change tradition just because they fina y let a female on the team?
Maybe she was just f ling o because she’d spent so much time on baby leave. it had b n a harder transition coming back to work than she expected.
What’s up, big brother? First one-eightseven?
What’s up, Laura?
Nothing t exciting here. just some guy tweaked out and probably walked t close to the edge of a cli .
How do you know he was a narco user?
I had a case with him before. The du y was breaking into pharmacies on basica y a daily basis, but he’d only ever take like a single bo le.
Every time? Not much of a pla er…
Not much of an anything. I’ve sti got to work him up, but I think most of his priors were a pe y stu like that. I know he had a girlfriend. I’m trying to I.D. her.
Do you know if he had any social media?
Or got pushed.
Probably. Who knows?
Ashley liked Laura. it was hard not to like her. But it was also hard for Ashley not to f l a li le jealous of her, t .
Text me his info. And a g d picture so I can s what he l ks like.
Murph! Heard we already have a lead on your Pedro case. So your brother says.
Laura was just so comfortable. Confident. Like she knew she belonged at the department.
Give me a bit and I’ get back to you on the girlfriend.
Do you mind pu ing his b king photos? I n d to send one to Laura to l k at.
Laura had b n hired as a crime analyst a few years after Marco started at the department. She already had a leg up having a family member at the department to vouch for her.
How fair was it that Laura, a civilian employ , could f l so secure in her role when Ashley, a sworn Police Detective, felt out of place?
Marco, anything I can do to help you workup that guy?
Ashley comforted herself in the knowledge that she could not be outworked. She would throw herself into the case, as she had done so many times in the past.
No one was more diligent. She would prove herself one way oR the other.
Nicholas Kashak wasn’t that kind of victim. What did he o er to society? Drug a iction left its victims more animal than man.
But a case was a case, and Murph was a Detective. investigating was in his DNA. Despite his disdain for the victim, Murph couldn’t help but mu over the evidence. A murder cases, regardle of the victim, involved a murderer.
Murph liked catching murderers.
What was the alternative, anyway?
Nothing sounded worse to Murph than retirement.
The more he thought about it, the ha ier he was that Nicholas Kashak had b n ki ed. A new case, even this case, was just what he n ded.
No, not what Murph n ded. What the department n ded. it wasn’t like he could leave the Ro ery/Homicide Detail in the hands of Peter Leota and a couple newbies.
with the victim’s girlfriend identified, The next step was to locate her. Easier said than done. Living on the str t meant she could be anywhere. Under any overpa , in any encampment, any motel.
Detectives, stuck in the o ice and weighed down by case loads, could rarely get out to “shake the bushes.”
Marco Ru o pushed out information to the patrol Division.
Most intel came into the police department through o icers working in the field.
Detectives relied on crime and a est reports to know what was going on in their areas, and this meant they had a limited view of what was rea y going on outside the station.
Field o icers, on the other hand, usua y had their finger on the pulse of what was o u ing on a day-to-day basis.
it was four days before Nicholas’ girlfriend, Amanda Baker, was located. She was holed up in a motel r m in Wilmington, a neighborh d not far from San Pedro.
Murph and Leota ro ed out as s n as they got the ca . With any luck, she would provide a lead on Nicholas’ death. Who knows, she might even be the ki er.
I knew it! I just knew it. I couldn’t find him. I l ked everywhere. We haven’t spent a day apart for almost four years! I knew it!
I just felt it-that he was dead. That’s why you’re here, right?
To te me he’s dead? I just knew it. I felt it!
TE ME ALREADY!
We knew each other since we were kids. We went to high sch l together. I always thought he was kind of weird... weird but sw t. He used to fo ow me around like a pu y dog.
Yes, ma’am. That’s why we’re here. Nicholas pa ed.
I didn’t rea y finish high sch l, but he did. I would sort of s him around the neighborh d. But after awhile he moved away, and I didn’t know what ha ened to him.
literary agency of Mark Sweeney & Associates. Published by David C Cook. All rights reserved.
A these years pa , and then one day I s him riding a bike down Ga ey StR T. My heart broke a li le. I always thought he’d be a lawyer or a busine man or something...
if everything was going so g d for you two, how do you figure he died?
But there he was. it was like no time had pa ed at a with us. He went right back to fo owing me around.
Only, this time it wasn’t so bad. Kind of nice actua y. No one rea y wanted me around much before.
I don’t know... We were ha y. I mean, he was talking about ge ing sober again.
We tried a few times before, but I rea y think it was going to stick this time.
Murph was in no m d to hear about their star-cro ed romance.
He would never have ki ed himself! He had t much to live for! He had me, and we loved each other!!
it could take w ks, months, even years to solve a single murder. And that’s before including the a itional time it takes to track a suspect down, make an a est, and bring the case to trial.
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
Murph, back in the day did you ever s them use chalk to mark a body?
What are you talking about?
You s it in the movies a the time. They put the outline of the dead guy on the ground so you can te what position they were in after they take the body away.
it always l ks so c l. I don’t know why we couldn’t start doing it…
Bludgeoned to death. that’s not a pre y way to go. Kind of an unusual way to ki someone t .
Didn’t they say the guy in Pedro had a bunch of blunt trauma?
That’s movie nonsense... Maybe they did that way back in the day, but the guys who came before me definitely didn’t.
And what? Leave it there to scare the neighbors? I’m sure they’re already freaked out enough. Probably never thought something like this would ha en here.
Guy is out with his dog, none the wiser…then, wham! Dead as a d rnail. You should have s n it! Bl d everywhere.
So who got a igned as the handle?
Man, Murph t k this one t . I figured I’d get a shot at it since he’s barely started the last one…
The dog freaked out when they came to take the body away. Tried to bite one of the coroners!
I think we should be l king at recent TWO-elevens in the area. it’s got to be one of these str t ro ery crews.
what about peter?
Oh, I gue Leota’s got a couple cases about to go to trial and couldn’t take another.
interesting that both recent murders were by the ocean…not t far from one another… but the victims couldn’t be more di erent.
Total coincidence. Who’s going to rob a bum?
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
it’ be interesting to s how it turns out.
Murph had b n just like Ru o when he was younger.
Always excited to te everyone about the big cases he was working.
Now conversations like that just a oyed him. in his experience, there was an inverse relationship betw n the amount a police o icer talked about themselF and the amount of work they a omplished.
Hey! some guy k ps ca ing and leaving me ages for you!
Yeah, I gue it’s about your case in San Pedro. Were you expecting a ca ?
Not particularly…
That so?
When he was new, Murph talked about each and every a est and investigation. But it was di erent now.
And then there was the vandalism suspect who kept ta ing up government buildings. Lt. Campbe was Murph’s train back in those days.
The suspect had hit thr nights in a row, ca ing the dispatch center after each tag to let Murph know there was a new crime to solve.
Are you rea y going to let him outrun you like that, Bones?!
Ca er is stating that HE wantS to give O icer Murphy an extra heads up tonight and is going to be at the Alameda Str t post o ice in five minutes if he wants to talk to him.
A arently the suspect thought he was the center of a new, serious political movement.
Roger, from the station.
Spit it out, Bones! F-f t pursuit…northI mean, eastbound…
From the moment Marco Ru o had b n hired by the police department, he was determined to work only the most respected a ignments.
Gue who I got a ca from yesterday?
Marco didn’t have to ask who Laura was talking about. Their father had b n ca ing Marco, t .
Now he was a igned to Homicide, the most prestigious of a Detective positions. He was on the road to su e . S n, he would surpa even Murph’s investigative ability.
He was sure of it.
I don’t think I want to know…
He says he wants to make up for everything… I don’t know. Don’t you think we should be open to the po ibility he’s changed?
Listen, he’s a scumbag . Always b n a scumbag. We don’t have to waste our energy on people like that.
He’s left me like thr me ages in the past few w ks… Just ignore him. He’ leave you alone eventua y.
We don’t n d to talk about this. Te me what you’re working on. Some guy has b n ca ing for Murph?
Thinks he’s going to crack the whole case wide open! He won’t te me what it’s about. Du y…
Last time he ca s me pi ed. A like, “What is it going to take to get Murph to talk to me?” I’m like, “chi dude. We’re busy catching bad guys. We’ get back to you”.
The begi ing of any case can f l overwhelming. every investigation s med to start at one of two extremes: with either t li le evidence to indicate the identity of the suspect or t much.
it was di icult to know exactly where to start. A Detective’s first move could send them down a ra it trail as each clue and piece of evidence leads to another and another.
if you weren’t careful, you could get so bo ed down in the w ds that you could mi the big picture.
Both of Murph’s victims were potentia y ki ed by blunt force trauma, both were a arently “random” ki ings near the beach.
San Pedro and Palos Verdes weren’t even that far from one another. But was there rea y enough to start drawing those kinds of conclusions?
Murph couldn’t be like others, MAKiNG a umptions t quickly. He had to a roach his cases with calm rationality.
When it came to criminal law, there were thr categories of pr f to consider.
Reasonable suspicion let a Detective stop someone to talk to them about a crime, but it wasn’t enough to a est someone and take them to jail.
Facts that, when put together, indicated there was a fair probability that a certain person had co i ed a certain crime.
The lowest level of pr f was reasonable suspicion. it was more or le like it sounded. it meant there was a reason to be suspicious.
Not just a f ling. An objective, factual reason.
if you wanted to a est a suspect, you n ded probable cause. Like reasonable suspicion, probable cause required specific, objective facts.
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
as the senior Detective, Murph knew firsthand what was required to rea y put ki ers in jail. More than probable cause: pr f beyond a reasonable doubt.
if Murph and his team couldn’t make their case beyond a jury's reasonable doubt, a of their e ort would be pointle .
probable cause wasn’t enough for Murph.
Murph lived by this standard of pr f in both his profe ional and personal life. He was unwi ing to believe anything he could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Murph was a g d Detective. He n ded to be calm and rational in his a roach.
The caseload is definitely an adjustment. I used to have maybe TWO, THR cases at a time, and I could pick and ch se what new cases to work...
it s ms like you guys a have dozens of cases pending at once.
Case management is a big part of the job. Got to know what cases are worth your time and which ones to let go. You can’t put ONE HUNDRED PERCENT into each and every case.
it’s nice to have a regular schedule again at least. I don’t know how anyone works survei ance with kids.
I guarant you’Ve never sme ed anything like the unique mixture of death and cleaning chemicals that you are about to experience.
Te me about it. Hard enough being up a night with an infant without having to deal with mi le of the night ca outs. Although we’ have a few of those working Homicide t .
For the most part, we’re just going to let the coroner do their thing. But take notes on anything you think you’ n d to remember.
Wi you stop it with a that snoring?! I can’t think with you making a that noise!!!
Many b ks touched on the subject, but no one s med to provide a satisfying answer. Why did Nelson ma er at a ?
Why are you l king at me like that?! What did I te you the last time?!
Menta y and physica y drained, Nelson began taking those frustrations out on the people around him. After a , they deserved it. they were just like him: worthle criminals.
I’ve had enough of you, Rob!
By the time he was released, Robert Nelson was convinced of his own worthle ne .
it was crazy, man! We go to the guy’s work to talk to his co-workers, and they act like they don’t even know the guy!
This is the victim from Palos Verdes?
it was like we had to te them they even worked with him.
Yeah! Some of the people didn’t even recognize his name. Wow…
I fina y get ahold of the daughter on the phone, and even she didn’t s m that concerned.
honestly, I think she was more wo ied about what ha ened to his dog than the fact her father was gone.
He lives his whole life, ends up in a fancy neighborh d like that, and then, as s n as he’s gone, it was like he was never here at a …
The daughter’s probably got a nice chunk of change coming if she wants to se the house.
Kim! You know that Li y Travels girl on iNSTAgram? The one dating the Lakers player?
Yeah, she had a that drama with one of the Kardashians or something?
She wishes. She tried to stir some up, but she’s not big enough for a that.
Get out of here with a that…
We anyways, Westside Bureau has a case with her. She got TWO-FORTY-fived in a home invasion. She’s at L.C.M.C. in a coma. they don’t know if she’ make it.
First they think it’s a random crime or something… but then she gets to the hospital and they notice something. The suspect branded the back of her neck! How crazy is that!
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace. Published
Wait. What did you just say?
This girl from instagram.
What?!
She’s starting to get famous, and su enly someone breaks into her home and burnS a brand on the back of her neck!
When did this ha en?
Last night. it must have b n some crazy fan-turned-stalker or something! Another bureau got the handle on the a ault investigation.
The reality of what was ha ening was sinking in for Murph. He had turned it over and over in his mind the whole drive back from the coroner.
Not a stalker…
...a serial ki er.
Two cases. No, now thr cases. Each victim branded by the suspect.
if Murph was going to solve this case, he would n d to move fast. Laura had said the victim was in a coma. if she survived, Detectives could have their first eyewitne .
I know, I know, the girl isn’t actua y dead yet. But it’s only a ma er of time. I wouldn’t be that carele .
I’ve had a lot of time to think since the last time I saw you. After what you did to me, I had to do some real soul searching. AND BECAUSE OF YOU, I HAD PLENTY OF Time.
Murph recognized the voice i ediately from the voicemail Laura had played for him. it was the guy who had b n ca ing the station for him.
Hey, sir, l k--
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I’ve b n trying to get ahold of you for a long time Murphy. I didn’t think it would take thr people dying for you to simply give me the time of day.
The fu y thing is, you were right a along. I wanted you to be wrong so bad. but the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t escape the f ling you were right.
What was I right about?
You gave me a lot of time to read. I wanted to know why I ma ered, why anyone ma ered. but in the end, I was faced with one undeniable conclusion.
We’re a worthle . None of us ma er. Not just me, but you t . We’re just animals fighting for survival. Eventua y we’ be gone, and it wi be like we were never here at a .
Now I’m going to help you learn what I’ve learned! You sti think some people are important. I mean, l k at you. Could care le about a couple random people ge ing ki ed.
Obviously our ki er is someone I’ve investigated before…but how long ago could we be talking?
in a car r, I’ve a ested hundreds of people…and that’s only counting the ones where I was the investigating o icer.
if we’re talking about any of the other cases, then the number of po ible suspects would be even higher…
it’s a head scratcher, that’s for sure.
A body’s got to k p perspective. it’s the people that are important, Drew. At least, that’s what the g d b k says, don’t it?
A homele guy, a rich guy, now some sma -time celebrity… what’s the co ection? is it just anyone he ha ens to find at the beach?
We can’t just pu up a list of past a est s. There would be t many. and the video is so p r, any number of people could match the guy we s on the f tage.
Lucky we got the phone number the suspect ca ed you from.
Leota was right. They had the number the suspect had last ca ed from.
it wasn’t much, but it was the best lead they had.
One of the murders is already in the news. it doesn’t help us, having a high-profile victim.
it might be more work, but we could get some g d intel from it t .
Pay phone?! Do they even sti have those?
I thought the one in front of the station was the last one left…
What we n d is to have the suspect in custody before any of this becomes public.
CopyrightedMaterial
The mayor is concerned people wi panic if we do a pre release. Not g d in an election year. I’m also concerned we’ waste our time chasing a mi ion leads if the public starts ca ing in bogus tips.
We don’t have many tips to begin with right now…
Let’s just start by going over what we have and try to game plan this…
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
Once I turned eight n, I got out as quick as I could. I felt kind of bad about leaving LAURA behind…
How did she handle that?
She was pre y upset, not go a lie. Especia y when she found out I joined the army. I think she thought she’d never s me again.
I n ded to go, though. The Army gave me a sense of purpose I just never had up to that point.
That’s sort of how I ended up in law enforcement. I wanted that same sense of identity; the same sense of mi ion I had before I got out of the military.
Over the next few days, the members of the Homicide Detail were pu ed in separate directions.
Dets. Ru o and Perez fo owed up on the ki ing in Santa Monica. it didn’t help much… A ording to her r ate, the victim already acquired several stalkers as she became increasingly famous. None of them s med a serious threat.
As for Murph? He began the arduous task of searching through his case files, trying to figure out which a est from his car r was responsible for the cu ent series.
Det. Leota was busy filing his domestic violence murder with the District A orney.
Each would sti n d to be investigated, however, even if this third victim was far more likely the result of a serial murder spr than a deranged fan.
Murph examined hundreds of photos and files trying to reca the voice matching the ki er’s ca , any suspect matching the ki er’s description.
As each day sli ed by, Murph’s anxiety rose. Monday and Tuesday pa ed without a break in the case.
By Wednesday night, the entire team was exhausted. But Murph couldn’t go home. with each murder exactly a w k apart, This was likely the eve of a fourth victim. His fourth victim.
The weight of that responsibility was taking it’s to . There had to be something he mi ed. Some sma clue he had overl ked.
murph was becoming desperate for anything that might help him identify the ki er.
Hey, I’m ge ing a ca on the other line. Let me put you on hold real quick.
I’m not anything special. I just want you to s you aren’t either. No one is.
We’re just tiny insects on a hunk of rock hurtling through space. There is no meaning, no purpose to any of our lives.
Don’t ignore me Murph-Murph?
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
O icer n ds help, Central station , RE: one-eight-seven suspect.
Any available unit, o icer n ds help RE: one-eighty-seven suspect. White male, six-f t, thin build, blue hat, BLACK shoes, using pay phone outside central station.
White male, six-f t, thin build, blue hat, BLACK shoes, using pay phone.
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace. Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Sweeney & Associates.
by David C Cook. All
Patrol units searched the area for several hours, but in the end, no suspect was located. He likely escaped prior to the a ival of the marked police units.
Wednesday had come and gone. Murph had his chance to catch the ki er and failed.
No sense in drawing this out. You must have known you couldn’t hide from us forever. Why not just come on in to the station so we can talk face-to-face?
So many people plo ing, cheating, ki ing to gain power. But everyone is eventua y forgo en. Kings, emperors…people you would think were important. S ms like the only people who are remembered are the ones that shouldn’t be.
Who, the Chief?
Come on…he’s not rea y your bo . Someone else makes a his decisions for him.
I’m going to pay him a special visit today. I’ be s ing you.
! You always l ked down on me! A arently on everyone! Couldn’t even get your a ention until I started ki ing the right kind of people... if I hadn’t ki ed them , you would have completely forgo en about me!
Yes! You n d to f l what I f l!
Can I su est--
So, what was your point? Just trying to teach me a le on?
We're a disposable…Forge able. Don’t you s that?
it’s a your fault, Murph.
Stop! This isn’t about you! it’s about me and Murph!
I hate that you were right about me.
Now wait a minute--
I never-Listen, Robert...
But it’s not just me. None of them rea y ma ered. That’s the part you don’t get!
Don’t argue with me! You know I’m right!
I'm trying to understand where you're coming from…
You understand nothing! I’m done with this! Done with you! Get out!
We , part of that means that I believe God rea y exists. And that He created me. Created everyone.
The way I figure, if everyone has a Creator who made them for a specific purpose, then it’s not our opinion of ourselves or each other that ultimately ma ers.
Luckily, He loves us. if He thinks I’m valuable, that’s g d enough for me. Sickne or death isn’t going to change that.
god isn’t fickle like us. What He thinks about us doesn’t change. if He says I ma er, then I ma er. End of story. Regardle of how I f l about myself day to day.
God was here before us and he’ be here long after we leave this world.
And trying my best to leave the rest up to Him.
A day is coming when no one at this department is going to remember me, remember either of us, but that’s okay. it’s not me that n ds to be remembered, it’s God.
I’m trying to focus on fulfi ing the purpose I was created for and k p serving God.
Listen Murph, what’s done is done. Whatever ha ened with Nelson can’t be changed. What you n d to think about is what you do going forward.
You can chase the wrong things, even g d things like law enforcement, and mi the be er things… craft a life, yet mi the point of living...spend time trying to make a name for yourself but remain a stranger to God.
That’s a we and g d for you.
I hope you wake up before it’s t late.
David C Cook, James David Wallace, and James Warner Wallace.
Don’t be so hard on him, Barnes. He’s a g d boy.
Even g d boys n d se ing straight from time to time.
Morning, Pa. Morning, Aunt rose.
No sch l today, son. We’re going to do some fishing.
What’s the preacher always saying about who our neighbors are?
That’s right. Now do you think you treated Ti y as yourself yesterday?
Everyone is our neighbor.
Yes, sir.
But Pa…
And how are we su osed to treat our neighbor?
We be er get going. Early bird catches the worm, you know.
A KILLER ON THE LOOSE. A DETECTIVE WITH NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE.
Detective Michael "Murph" Murphy is approaching retirement when a gruesome murder in San Pedro pulls him back into the thick of it. Jaded from years of homicide cases, Murph now faces a chilling pattern—a series of murders connected by an unsettling message.
With a rookie team in tow, Murph races against the clock as the killer strikes every seven days. Each new victim forces him to confront the deeper questions he’s avoided his entire career: What does justice really mean? And what is the value of a life, especially one society has forgotten?
