Serpentine

CHAPTER 1

My best friend, a seasoned homicide detective, is a master of discontent.

Some say Milo Sturgis enjoys the cold comfort of a sour mood.

Grumbling, grimacing, and mumbled curses peak during the muddled middle of murder investigations, when promising leads break their promises. He always gets past it; his solve rate is near-perfect. Which is why his bosses tolerate the biliousness, messages ignored, memos tossed in the trash unread.

I ve come to think of Milo as allergic to obedience, wonder if it s rooted in his rookie days when gay cops didn t exist in the department and he had to look over his shoulder and write his own rulebook.

But I could be wrong. Temperament s a strong factor in determining personality so it could just be the way he is. I wonder what his baby pictures look like. Imagine him as one of those infants who look as though they ve been weaned on sour pickles.

Like a lot of things, we don t talk about it.

He doesn t call me in on all of his cases, just the ones he terms different once he s gotten his bearings. This time, he didn t wait.

I picked up his phone message when I returned from an eight a.m. run up Beverly Glen. Misery lusts for company, I m coming over. If it s a problem, text me.

I left the door unlocked and headed for the shower. Before I took two steps, the bell rang.

He d called from the road.

Open.

He barreled through, convex gut leading the way, head lowered, bulky shoulders piled up around his neck like a muscular shawl.

A charging bull if a bull could find an aloha shirt that fit.

He took a moment to stoop and pat the head of my little French bulldog, Blanche, murmured, At least someone s smiling, and continued toward the kitchen.

Blanche cocked her head and looked up at me, expecting clarification. When I shrugged and followed him in, she gave a world-weary sigh and padded along.

Milo s usual thing is to raid the fridge and assemble snacks worthy of construction

Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer s Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored Half Moon Bay, A Measure of Darkness, Crime Scene, The Golem of Hollywood, and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California and New York.