The First Assignment

[image error]Baptism by Fire

Before I had a chance to grab a cup of coffee or discover the location of my desk, I was given my first assignment as a homicide detective.

A 16-year-old boy had been killed by a train in the City of Industry.

It was a chilly fall morning, and I made the mistake of arriving at the office at seven o’clock. Other than one detective handling phones at the front desk, the place was empty.

I came from Special Investigations Bureau (SPI) where we started early; six o’clock was the...