Gabe (KSI 6)

1

Lights and sirens flashed in the distance even as the lightning lit up the stormy night sky. Rain poured down in sheets, making it difficult to navigate the small roads within the subdivision Abbey Crawford found herself in.

She cursed as she was forced to slow down to a snail's pace. This was the last call she'd expected to receive tonight. She should be out celebrating her win in court this afternoon, but instead she was driving to a crime scene. One she'd been warned was bloody.

To be honest, she wasn't sure why she was here. ADAs typically didn't get called to crime scenes. They were brought in after the suspects were arrested to either make a deal for testimony or a plea to keep the case out of the court. The district attorney appreciated those because it helped the bottom line. The budget wasn't endless for trials.

Add to that, she wasn't part of the major crimes division at work, and she was really confused as to why she was out here in a monsoon. She handled white collar crime.

An officer flagged her at the perimeter, and she showed him her assistant district attorney's badge. He had two other officers lift the crime scene tape and waved her through.

The district attorney himself, Michael Coleman, was waiting for her on the front porch. What was he doing here? The DA almost never came out to crime scenes. The ADAs did that when necessary and filled him in on the situation. His expression was so grim it set off every internal alarm she had. That look was never a good one.

"Miss Crawford, I hate to have to call you out this late at night, but we have a situation."

"Sir." She accepted the footies from the officer by the door and put them on over her shoes so as not to contaminate the crime scene. "I'm not sure why I'm here."

"You're here because effective as of two hours ago, you are now part of the major crimes division and you'll be taking over John Benson's cases."

She felt sucker punched.

John Benson worked in the major crimes division, directly overseen by the district attorney.

She didn't expect to be offered a position in that division for several more years, at least. She'd only been part of the DA's office for three years and had only first chaired a handful of investigations, usually working as second chair to the more seasoned litigators.

No way was she was ready for this.

Didn't mean she wouldn't run with it, though. Her daddy didn't raise no fool. He always said if given a chance to shine, show them what you could do.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "What do I need to know?"

"This is the home of John Benson. He and his entire family were slaughtered earlier this evening. We think the people responsible are part of the drug cartel he was building a RICO case against."

Inside, she panicked, but she kept her outward appearance calm. Never show fear.

"This is probably an irrelevant question, but are you sure its them and not another one of his old cases?"

Coleman's lips thinned, not liking the question, but she had to ask. It was her job to ask.

"Sir, I look at all angles, not just the one that's the easiest. Easy might be the simplest answer, but it isn't always the right one."

"I know, Crawford. That's why you're here." He motioned for her to enter the house. "Benson has been hounding me for months to bring you over to major crimes. I like to vet my ADAs more than he does. Sadly, he won't be able to see your promotion."

"Will I be prosecuting his murder?" Abby knew he said she'd be taking over his cases, but that didn't mean his old cases would now include his own murder as well.