Son of a Pitch Entry: Coded for Murder

Title: Coded For Murder

Category and Genre: Adult, Thriller/Mystery

Word Count: 70 000

Query:

The leaders of a tech startup are serially tortured, poisoned and bludgeoned, propelling a scarred detective into a three-day chase among Montréal’s cafés, hipsters, and geeks to stop an unexpected killer.

After the death of his wife and son, Chief Inspector Derek JAMES of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal has accepted his physical and emotional scars and lives for the thrill of the case. With his boss trying to kill him, a faceless corpse hung by the river, and a twelve-year-old psychiatric patient as his key witness, James races to keep up with the murderer. CEO Holly will do anything to protect the sale of the startup -- even throw herself in the killer’s path -- triggering two more attacks within twenty-four hours, and leaving James desperate for the one thing he doesn’t have...time.

First 250 Words:

April 2, 6:50 am

“Strung up by the river? Without a face?”

Chief Inspector Derek James of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal tucked his cold hands into his pockets and looked up. A rope looped over the middle branch of an oak in the urban beach park. Above him hung a body with an exposed skull, framed by sparse hair on top, ears on either side, and a wrinkly neck puckered in a noose. The face was stripped to the bone with eroded teeth set in a perpetual grin as if the skull were enjoying a joke at everyone’s expense.

James’s gut tightened, but he stilled the reaction in an instant, regaining his calm.

“I’m sure we’re thinking the same thing, Derek.” Forensic Pathologist John Seymour exercised professional restraint, but his eyes were bright and keen. “What could this poor guy have done to deserve this?”

James took his time responding. Dawn cast a blue light on the water and snow. A damp cold sank through his coat and into his bones. It was amazing how the usually peaceful beach park took on a menacing air: the St. Lawrence River choppier than usual, swirls of sand and snow rolling like tumbleweeds, the sky heavy and low. But a children’s playground lay behind the hanging body, and its red swings, bright yellow slide, and empty wading pool offered a marked contrast to the swaying corpse.

“What can you tell me, Doctor?”