The first rule of the perfect crime is simple; never let them think a crime occurred in the first place.
That's why I stood in Judge Raymond Holloway's lavish penthouse, watching his lifeless body dangle from the ceiling. The silk rope around his neck was tied with precision, the knot positioned to break the hyoid bone just enough for forensic analysts to believe he struggled. The room was pristine, not a single sign of forced entry. A half-finished bottle of whiskey sat on his mahogany desk, next to a handwritten note forged in his own handwriting.
A tragic suicide. That's what they'd call it. That's what I'd make sure they called it.
I turned my wrist to check my watch. 4:32 A.M. Right on schedule. The city outside his glass balcony stretched for miles, lights flickering through the early morning fog.
No cameras. No witnesses. No loose ends.
I bet down, adjusting the angle of the overturned chair beneath him. The details mattered. People wanted stories that made sense, and I made sure to give them one they could swallow without choking. Judge Holloway had been corrupt, laundering money through the backdoor deals, letting killers walk free for the right price, especially for Vince DeLuca. But tonight, he answered to someone whose justice didn't come with a price tag.
Mine.
I exhaled slowly, stepping back to admire my work. His vacant eyes stared into nothing. A man who had sentenced dozens to death, now a lifeless corpse swinging from the ceiling.
I smiled.
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"Holloway's dead."
Marcus's voice carried over the police scanner in my car, a hint of disbelief in his usual rough, scratchy tone. I listened as I drove, the wipers cleaning away the morning drizzle.
"Suicide?" Another officer chimed in.
"Looks like it."
Of course, it did.
I turned down the alleyway leading to my apartment, pulling into the underground garage. The scanner crackled again.
"We're bringing in Detective Moreau. Let's see what he makes of this."
I smirked. Perfect.
Because in a few hours, I wouldn't just be observing my own crime scene.
I'd be the one leading the investigation.