Our Honored Dead (Stephanie Chalice Thrillers Book 4) by Lawrence Kelter Page A

learned from him. We learned that John Doe had been drugged with ketamine—or Special K, as it was known on the street. Special K had become a pretty popular street drug, particularly at dance clubs and raves. It had psychoactive properties and could alter mood and behavior. At low doses, it produced a mild, dreamy feeling, as well as a feeling of being slightly outside one’s body. Higher doses produced a hallucinogenic effect. And to think, they use it on horses. Some people will try anything. We were still waiting for John Doe’s DNA report, so we had no idea if he was in any way related to victim number one. I didn’t feel like the whiz-bang detective everyone needed me to be, nor did I feel like the detective I wanted to be. I wondered if the childbearing process had altered my thought processes. Was I less clever than I used to be? There was a pair of murders to be solved and I didn’t feel as if I had made any progress. One of the maternity books I read referenced something called pregnancy brain. Maybe that’s what’s going on.
    The phone rang and startled Gus. “Five more minutes,” he pleaded.
    “Shhh.” I grabbed the phone and pulled the bedroom door closed behind me. I went into the kitchen so that Gus could get a few more minutes rest. “Hold on,” I said into the phone.
    “Stephanie, it’s me, Nick.” Sonellio’s voice was filled with panic and anger.
    “Boss? What wrong?”
    “Did you run those prints yet?” He wasn’t asking nicely. He was upset, and his tone was urgent.
    “I dropped them off right after we had breakfast with you. Why, has something happened?”
    “Turn on the news. A family was murdered last night.” I worked for Nick Sonellio for years, and as hard as it is for me to say, we had both heard this kind of news before. We worked homicide. Death was our business. Death is what pays our bills. In all that time, I had never heard Sonellio sound so dire. I had never heard such utter devastation in his voice.
    “Boss, what’s wrong?”
    “I told you! I told you something was wrong.” Sonellio began to cough into the phone. His cough grew significantly louder. It sounded as if he couldn’t control it.
    “Boss, settle down. Talk to me.”
    Toni’s voice came on the line. “Just a minute.” I heard a hiss. “Easy, Nick, easy. Breathe,” I heard her say. She was silent for a moment. I strained my ears and listened carefully to the sound of Sonellio’s labored breathing. I had spent enough time in hospitals to know what I was hearing. He was inhaling oxygen. It took a couple of moments, but his coughing eventually subsided. I turned on the TV and flipped to the local news station. A news reporter was interviewing neighbors. The information banner at the bottom of the screen read: Staten Island Family Slain.
    “Stephanie?” Toni was back on the line. “Can he call you back? He—” I could hear Toni sobbing.
    “Toni, what’s wrong? Tell me what’s going on.” The news camera pulled back, providing a wide-angle view of the street. I was able to read the corner street signs: Bancroft Avenue and Edison Street. It took a second, but then I understood why Sonellio was in such distress. The family that had been slain lived around the corner from him. They were his neighbors.

Chapter Twenty-four
     
    I felt an ache in my chest as we retraced the very same route we had taken to Sonellio’s house just the other day. Gus was feeling better and was behind the wheel as we crossed over the Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island. I was preoccupied with the thought of Sonellio’s dead neighbors and was glad that Gus was driving. Sonellio was a righteous man. I couldn’t imagine how hard the news had hit him. He had most likely been accurate—someone had used his yard to case his neighbors’ homes. He was so close. Close enough to prevent what happened? Never! But Nick Sonellio was not the kind of guy to let himself off the hook. He must be devastated.
    We were on our way to