Jack Petro, a squad detective and a good friend, was standing fifteen feet away when I entered. He nodded sympathetically as I walked over. ‘This one a keeper, Harry?’ Jack was asking me if the case would be transferred to Homicide or a task force at Borough Command. In the normal course of events, high-profile cases were routinely taken away from precinct detectives, a development I would have welcomed. ‘If that’s the plan, no one’s told me about it.’ I looked over his shoulder and saw Adele seated at her desk thirty feet away. She was staring directly at me, her gaze sharp and contemptuous. She’d been awaiting my return for hours and now I was bullshitting with my buddy. How predictable. ‘My partner’s giving me the evil eye.’ Jack’s smile dropped away and his expression became grave as he tossed me a snappy salute. ‘Time to report, soldier.’ Like many of my peers, Jack professed not to know why I continued to partner with Adele Bentibi when I had more than enough seniority to demand a change.
