The park had become risky for a lone runner. The recent murders made that all too clear.

He tried to throw off the negative thoughts that had crept into his head and blunted his runner’s high, but the deaths were too close to him; he’d known the four victims well.

Two of the men, Jason and Dwayne, preferred to train off the beaten track and used the park’s forest trails, a mistake in Bruce’s opinion. The seawall, in contrast, was exposed and usually crowded with walkers, cyclists, runners, rollerbladers, dog-walkers, and the like. So what if one had to do two or three laps on pavement to get in the miles? At least it was safe. He was convinced that muggers were responsible for both Jason and Dwayne’s deaths, despite the police refusing to give out much in the way of details.

Roger and Frank’s murders were more disturbing: killed in their own apartment. Word leaked to a Star reporter that it was “an execution-type slaying,” both victims shot in the back of the head. Bruce could think of no reason the two would be “executed.” That was gangland stuff. Roger and Frank ran a flower shop and he just knew they weren’t into drugs or anything like that. It made no sense.