Breach Of Peace: LAWFUL TIMES, #1

By Daniel Greene

When an imperial family is found butchered, Officers of God are called to investigate. Evidence points to a rebel group trying to stab fear into the very heart of the empire. Inspector Khlid begins a harrowing hunt for those responsible, but when a larger conspiracy comes to light, she struggles to trust even the officers around her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel Greene
• Release date: Mar 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9780578840789

Book preview

Breach of Peace

Lawful Times

Book 1

Daniel B. Greene

BREACH OF PEACE

Book One of Lawful Times

Copyright © 2021 by Daniel B. Greene. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product

of the author’s imagination or used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,

or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this

publication can be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

without expressed permission from the author.

Ebook ISBN: 9780578840789

Paperback ISBN: 978-0578840772

The Crime

The Madness

The Reason

The Lead

The Mistake

The Flight

The Truth

The Coverup

The Crime

A child hung by a chain from a second-story window. The soft lines of his sweet face grew sharper as Khlid approached the manor, until each swollen and bloodied detail was waiting on the back of her eyelids with every blink. Protocol was to leave the location of a crime untainted for as long as possible, but no one commented when Khlid ordered a beat cop to remove the horrid sight. The boy—no older than ten—deserved his dignity, but the chain was thick, and the officer was still sawing away.

Khlid stood before the servants of the manor who’d assembled in stunned silence. She didn’t have much to offer them, only a tepid, We won’t rest until the truth comes to light. God bless.

God bless, the staff echoed, some through tears.

Khlid turned to Rollins, reached into her coat pocket, and pulled out her notebook. Have we counted the dead?

At least seven, ma'am. Still checking all the rooms, came his immediate reply. Rollins was the best sergeant the Seventh Precinct had to offer. Age had slowed him down, but he managed a crime scene better than most. We are searching the surrounding grounds. Inspector Chapman is already inside the house making his analysis.

Chapman got first look. Great.

The next question hurt to ask. Did we find what was missing of the boy?

There was a twisted sense of relief in knowing such horrid sights still bothered Khlid after all these years on the force.

Rollins inhaled slowly before responding. No, ma’am.

Khlid walked to the house, her head down in thought. Rollins followed close behind.

The morning air was wet and cold from the downpour the night before, and Khlid’s feet squished as she made her way across the grounds. Most of the major pools of water had evaporated, leaving behind a trail of mud and fog. Considering the manor’s distance from the city, Khlid expected to hear morning birdsong or country hounds barking in protest of the disturbance of their routine. Instead, the land itself seemed to hold its breath, haunted by the events of the night before. Against the silent backdrop, the rumble of carriage wheels announced the arrival of more officers to protect the scene.

How much information do we have on the family? she asked Rollins, averting her gaze from the front door.

The sergeant pulled out a notepad. What do you already know, ma’am?

Khlid thought back to the report she had read during the carriage ride over. Pruit family. Loyalists to their core. Perfect record on paper, she ticked off. The head of the family, Charl, made his money in manufacturing—mostly providing for the war effort.

Providing what?

Steel.

Rollins coughed. Khlid realized she was taking a drag from a cigarette she did not remember lighting. The damn things had become as natural as walking. Rollins had made it well known that he hated the acrid smell.

Correct, ma’am. Rollins turned a page. Two daughters and one—umm… He glanced at the house. One son. The matriarch, Muri Pruit, oversaw the import of countless cultural goods to the capital city from across the empire; most notably, she was the one recently responsible for acquiring the Royal Stones of Jurridia.

Fascinating, Khlid said with mock interest. The southern nation of Jurridia had come under imperial rule about five years ago. Many of their royal artifacts had been relocated to the Museum of Kingdoms. Were they socialites?

Rollins lifted his gaze from his notes. Ma’am?

How often did they go to those royal parties in the city? You know, the shit rich people live for.

We don’t know that yet, ma’am.

Khlid wrote down three addresses, before handing the booklet to Roilins. Find their address book. If any of those are in there, let me know.

Yes, ma’am.

And Rollins?

Yes?

Khlid indicated her cigarette. I’m sorry.

He nodded and headed for a side entrance to the manor. Khlid noticed a workman's shed, roughly fifty meters from the manor. Something that had been bothering her came into focus.

Two medium-sized windows were situated on each side of the shed—but only one reflected the foggy morning light.

It poured rain all last night, Khid muttered to herself. What are the chances a family this rich has a staff too sloppy to close a shed window during a storm?

Khlid tossed her half-smoked cigarette to the ground.

Nasty habit. Really must stop.

She examined the rest of the grounds. Every hedge was trimmed to perfection; no forgotten tools lay about. The exterior of the house itself was immaculate, making it more than unlikely the shed had simply been overlooked

Khlid squinted and spotted a small padlock dangling from the shed door’s latch. Can’t open it from the outside without a key. Can’t open it from the inside if it's locked. Which means... She was close enough now to see that the window had, as she thought, been smashed.

As she drew closer, Khlid noted the absence of any glass in the grass and dirt below the sill. Smashed inward to climb in. So we have… She leaned in. Yup.

Blood on the shed’s floor.

Khlid tsked. Never climb through broken glass. She pulled out her notebook and noticed another cigarette burning in her hand.

Dammit!

Flicking the cigarette to the grass, she called out, Bring the cutters. An officer just outside of a small servants’ entrance looked her way. Yes, you. Cutters, if you would.

As the officer jogged toward the front of the manor, Khlid squatted down near the window to inspect a mess of footprints in the mud. They all seemed to be one size—medium, if she had to guess—and they moved both toward and away from the shed.

What had happened was clear. The why remained hidden.

Khlid walked around the shed, but when she found nothing else of interest and the bolt cutters still had not arrived, the temptation to shoot the damn padlock off flared inside of her. Logically, it should work, but she had never actually seen it done in person.

Thankfully, the officer returned before she reached her decision.

He raised the cutters to the lock and threw his weight into his grip, but only managed to make it halfway through. It took one more heave before the lock gave way with a solid clip. Khlid probably could have managed it in one. True, she’d had plenty of time and motivation to exercise over the last couple of weeks, but she’d been, overall, unimpressed with many of the officers’ tendency not to keep up with fitness after basic training.

Well, this is lavish.

Khlid had never seen a shed so clean and organized. Granted, she had not been in many royal sheds, but this was bordering on ridiculous. It took several beats to fully take in the room. The floor appeared to have been kept well-swept and polished. Most of the tools looked as if they had never been used—though, given the state of the grounds, Khlid had reason to doubt.

Either everything was compulsively cleaned or replaced. More likely cleaned.

Officer... Khlid searched his face for a name. "...Smits. What

Reviews for Breach Of Peace

[doug · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this short book , I thought the ending felt a little rushed but a good start

[Zoe Regis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was very short and I wished it didn't end so soon as I was wanting to find out more, I guess this will be my motivation to read the second one which I already have in my Library. I'm looking forward to it.

There wasn't much info given in the books but just enough to peak interest and keep you reading.

[Bruno Sequeira · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very well paced and well written for a first book

[Quirks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good for a debut. Story's better than its execution.

[Adrianne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great debut, can't wait for the next book in the series.

[Fletcher Little · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great read, well paced, all of the characters were well written. I am excited to read more from Greene.