The bile rose in Gabe’s throat, a reaction born of both fear and of spying the man he loathed more than any other on earth. During the few months that followed laying his son to rest, he’d become consumed with making Jacob’s death count for some higher cause. And it had been frustrating. He studied police techniques, examined officer complaint statistics, and read every article and book relating to the subject he could get his hands on. He was a man on a mission, fueled by a seemingly empty home, growing divide with his spouse, and an unending carousel of mental images from Jacob’s abruptly shortened life. In the course of his research, he’d run across several references to a British politician named Sir Robert Peel. Credited with having developed the foundation for all modern police forces back in the early 1800s, Peel had created what was now known as “The Peelian Principles,” a simple list of nine items that were still held in high esteem today, hundreds of years after being penned.
