Karma Patrol by Kate Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

Rachel Smith, and all it said in the margins was,
You’ve got to be kidding me. Do you know how many Rachel freaking Smiths there are in this city?
    That drew a snicker from Jade, and she glanced down at the phone in her hand, hoping a quick search of Rachel Smiths would turn up one listed as ‘recently deceased.’ It didn’t, but those records weren’t always kept in the system. If people died with their karmic balance at or near zero, often they were simply erased from Karma Division’s database. If Smith had been deleted, it meant she hadn’t had much karmic impact left to make, which would make Jade’s repair job easier.
    The third name stood out to her even though it was a common name: Jared Evans. There was a state senator named Jared Evans, which she knew because he was also one of her biggest karmic challenges. He lived in Midtown West and, like most politicians, was as corrupt as the day was long. He was also adept at dodging the karmic consequences for his negative actions, which seemed to be a gift among the political set. People like him were a big part of why she wanted to become an account specialist. It would be nice to have the luxury of focusing only on the big karmic spenders, to solve the large problems instead of spending her time slapping Band-Aids over the tiny traumas of the everyday.
    Sure enough, the notation next to his name was nearly three paragraphs on New York State Senator Jared Evans’ illustrious political career. Next to that was another comment about the possible political ramifications of his death. Jade wondered if it had occurred to anyone else that Evans and Stankovic might have been meeting each other outside the tenement, and if anyone was looking into whatever connections they might have to one another, but then she shook her head. Not only was the
Bulletin
practically guaranteed to search high and low for proof of a conspiracy that they could blow up into the dramatic news story of the month, but it wasn’t her problem either way. She didn’t care why the victims had been targeted or whether there was some shadowy ulterior motive behind the murders. All she cared about was putting things back into balance before the Powers That Be decided if she was fit to be promoted to account specialist.



he normally sedate atmosphere of the squad room had transformed into controlled chaos. Captain Hawkes had pulled a handful of detectives and uniforms off their other duties and put them on the shooting investigation, and every cop in the room was working at their assigned task with grim determination.
    “Senator Evans’ personal assistant says he was scheduled to be at a television studio twelve blocks away—”
    “–because everyone at the Serbian Embassy is stonewalling me. I can’t even get the receptionist to—”
    “–husband’s name is Connor Smith. He’s coming in now. I’m going to need a room—”
    “Are you okay?”
    Luke, sitting at his computer and letting the cacophony of the investigation wash over him, took a moment to realize the last question was directed at him.
    “What?” he said belatedly, tilting his head up to find Kalindi Patel watching him. “I’m fine.”
    “You don’t look fine. You look exhausted.”
    He felt her studying his appearance, and he tried to imagine what she saw when she looked at him. He was disheveled, with his crooked tie and the five o’ clock shadow on his jaw visible signs of fatigue. They’d both worked through the night on the mob-related killing they’d solved before this shooting had been dumped in their laps, and she looked at least as rumpled as he did. What was normal for the rest of them, however, was distinctly unusual for Luke. He had strong opinions about how a detective should present himself, and while he wouldn’t know a designer suit from a bargain basement special, he always made an effort to look professional. Patel had worked with him long enough to know that he kept a razor, two clean dress shirts,