Free DARK CITY a gripping detective mystery by CHRISTOPHER M. COLAVITO Page A

happened in that alley, and so do you. It would be easier for both of us if you admitted it, rather than make me have to go through official channels and prove it.”
    “I don't know what you're talking about.”
    “Sure you do. If you don't want to tell me now, you can wait and tell everyone in court. I don't know, maybe you'd like having an audience to play to.”
    “Please leave.”
    “Yes, ma'am. But I'll be back.”
    Knox did not give up his pursuit of the truth. He was able to persuade his partner to keep the case open, staking out her house at night, leaving reminders that they were getting closer to uncovering the truth. This lasted only a few days, but it felt like an eternity for them both. The pressure built with every passing moment, until it could no longer be contained.
    The call came in at five minutes before midnight, the time etched in Knox's mind. The young woman could no longer live with the continual accusations; she could not deal with the thought of being considered a murderer. She took her own life, rather than live another day under the cloud of suspicion.
    Detective Knox blamed himself, even as the thought crossed his mind that he had been proven right. This was not the result he wanted, it was not the way things were supposed to play out. Justice may have been delivered, but it was not served. No one, not even the guilty, deserved to die like that. Knox had irreparably broken her, and no amount of prayer would be able to free him from the burden of his conscience.
    Matters were made worse the next day, as the news of her suicide brought a new witness out of the shadows, one who corroborated her story. She had been threatened, and she had defended herself as she said. There was no struggle, because she fired at the first sight of a gun, and an opportunistic passerby took the weapon before the police had arrived at the scene. Knox had pushed an innocent woman into a terrible, drastic action, a mistake he would spend his entire life atoning for.
     
    * * *
     
    Detective Lane looked at his partner, his face long, his expression devoid of any tangible emotion. Hearing that his partner could fail was a shock to his system, and that he could do so in such a horrifying manner was incomprehensible.
    “How did you survive that?”
    “I survived that first day because I had approval from above. I survived every day after that because it was the first, and last, mistake I made.”
    “I can't believe it.”
    “But you see why we can't get ahead of ourselves, don't you?”
    “Yes. You were right.”
     
     

 
    Getting Away With Murder: Can The Police Solve Anything?
    By: William McNeal
     
    Another day has come and gone, and the police are no closer to making an arrest in the 'locked room murder', sources have revealed. The department is running out of clues without striking upon a single solid lead. All appearances are that the investigation will be prolonged, difficult, and likely to end without any answers.
     
    This development is unacceptable. In a city that is comfortable with the brazen violence that fills the streets, a murder of this kind, one that shakes people's senses to the core, must be solved. We cannot allow the citizenry to be afraid in their own homes. Some things need to be sacred, and it's up to the police to make sure they stay that way.
     
    It has come to light that the lead investigator of the case, Detective Dylan Knox, has a troubling history. Though he is a decorated officer with a large number of cases solved, sources say he was once involved in harassing an assault victim, driving her to suicide.
     
    Is this the kind of man we want keeping us safe? How is it no one ever knew about charges so severe?
     
    The police department has much to answer for, and it does not appear that we are going to be given any. The department has been tight-lipped as to any developments in the case, and our repeated requests for information have been rebuffed in the strongest of