prologue6
The name’s Kyle Hyde.
On December 24, 1976, I shot a man named Brian Bradley. He was my partner. And my friend.
“Hey, Bradley! I just heard from the chief. You really going to do it?”
“Yeah. We think it’s the only way to get the info we need.” “I don’t know…”
“Look, I know it’s dangerous, but I’m the only one in position to get this done.” “All right, partner. If you say so. ...So what are you going to tell Mila?”
“Not much. Probably tell her I’m being transferred or something. Might even send her to Boston to live with some family until this whole thing blows over. Safer than letting you watch her, right?”
December, 1975. Bradley goes undercover to investigate a
“Why’d you do it, Bradley?”
He turns to run...and I shoot him. Bradley crumples and takes a dive into the river, but the body’s never found. A dirty cop’s not a popular subject, so the whole thing’s swept under the carpet in a matter of days.
“We don’t waste manpower looking for dead rats, Hyde. Forget it.”
As for me? I leave my badge and gun on my desk and walk away. Eight years on the force...done.
7
It’s been three years since I left the 89th Precinct and New York behind. Now I’m a salesman for an outfit called Red Crown...but I’m still looking for Bradley.
On the surface, Red Crown’s a
When a job comes in, Ed tells me where to go and puts whatever I’m supposed to find on an order sheet that he mails to me. When I arrive, I just lay low until the sheet shows. But once I get it, it’s time to go to work.
December 28, 1979. The last Friday of the year. Ed pages me, but I let it slide for a few hours before calling in. ...It was a rough night.
“Hyde! Why haven’t you checked in?”
“Stop yelling, Ed. My head’s pounding like a marching band caught in a stampede.”
“Hung over again, eh? Well, no sympathy here. Ya reap what ya sow! Now listen up! I got a job for ya! It’s a place called Hotel Dusk. Package is on the way, and the order sheet’s inside.”
“Got it.”
I hang up and climb back into my
I didn’t realize it when I started this trip, but as I pull up to Hotel Dusk I get the
feeling I’m going to find something. Something that will lead me to Bradley.