Chapter One

Dennis Parker entered Champion’s Family Restaurant and glanced around quickly, his flat dark eyes sizing up the busy mid-morning crowd. At the counter the head cook flipped pancakes like a sleepwalker while customers jostled for space at the door, hoping to bypass the gridlock. Parker frowned slightly as he waved off the hostess and walked towards Connor’s usual booth near the window. He hated crowded restaurants, always had. Why anyone would want to clutter up the simple sanctity of eating with pointless conversation and shrieking children was beyond him. But then, Emergency Manager Pat Connor did love a crowd, and over time Parker had learned to keep his opinions to himself.

He approached Connor’s booth, pausing politely while some woman with a baby shook Connor’s hand and thanked him for all his good work in the city. Connor smiled, his thin, ferrety face on full-tilt politician, and then waved his hand towar