Dead Right

Dan Shields, the detective who breaks all the rules, had seen dozens of homicide victims. None sickened him more than this one. The body of twelve-year-old Javier Ibanez was sprawled in front of a Frankland Avenue cafe. The boy had been texting while attempting to cross this busy Hartford street. Pedestrians who saw a speeding car approaching shouted to him, but he appeared not to have heard the warnings. The sporty vehicle’s impact sent his body to the sidewalk, twenty feet from the road. His black baseball cap and one sneaker came to rest on the pavement. The vehicle that had struck Javier sped away, and the long-haired driver never looked back. Dan arrived at the crime scene and observed the bloodied corpse. The detective noticed a tattoo on the victim’s neck, and wondered if Javier had been a gang member. Was this brutal hit-and-run an accident, or was it an intentional hit? The savvy detective’s investigation soon uncovered a dark truth. It wasn’t long before Dan was caught in a dangerous game that put his family in harm’s way.