It's the third definition that is important. It's the one that separates the wannabe cops from the real ones. In any mindless operation, the one who can spot the anomaly in the day-to-day routine is the one who succeeds. The one who gets promoted from patrolman to detective. The detective, or detective team, who has the highest conviction rates.
They found a few anomalies worth investigating.
The first anomaly was they couldn't find Gorman's stepson, Mark. He was gone. Not at home. Not in any of the city's three hospitals. In no one's morgue. Not crashing at some buddy's apartment. He was just . . . gone.
The search did find Mark's car parked in a parking lot off Davidson Street. A big lot pushed up against a giant chain bookstore. He drove a typical college kid set of wheels; a relativ
