“I’m thrilled for you,” said an unconvincing Zoe. “I guess I thought of you more like a vigilante sheriff rounding up the bad guys.”

“I was never a vigilante sheriff,” Conner had said, shaking his head and laughing. “And, I’m still going to be rounding up bad guys, people like Bernie Madoff or the Enron crew. They’re bad guys in a different way. They do it with a smile and a wink while they cheat millions of people, many of whom lose their life’s savings. In my opinion, they’re as bad as the drug dealers, they just wear better clothes, drive nicer cars and belong to country clubs.”

Zoe leaned back on the couch and smiled, remembering how excited her husband had been when he had told her about his new position. Conner’s special ringtone sounded from her phone and it startled her. As she picked it up she looked at the time—exactly 8pm. Conner as always, was right on time.

“Hey babe, I was just sitting here thinking about you and missing you,” said Zoe into the phone while sneaking a sip of bourbon.

“It’s good to hear your voice,” said Conner. “They’ve given us so many new protocols and procedures this week, my head is spinning. This particular training has been brutal but we’ve got to learn it.”

“Aww, I’m sorry. If you were here right now, I’d give you one of my super special foot massages, maybe even a full body rub.”

“One of your massages would feel really good right now. My head is pounding. My eyes hurt I’m so tired.”

“What did you learn about today?” asked Zoe.

“Babe, you know I can’t tell you these things. Why do you always ask?”

“You can’t tell me anything? Okay, what did you have for lunch?”

“I could tell you that, but then I’d have to kill you,” said Conner with a laugh. “A soggy corned beef sandwich and some fries.”

Wondering whether she should mention the masked woman and the murder plot, Zoe gently tested the waters.

“Corned beef, yum. So, did you hear about what happened last night? Another woman was found strangled this morning in Central Park,” said Zoe.

“I saw it in my news feed when we broke for lunch.”

“People are saying it might be the West Side Strangler? I’ll bet it was him. What do you think?”

“I doubt it. From what I read, the park murder doesn’t fit the MO of the previous homicides,” said Conner. “All the other women were killed inside their apartments. This new homicide was outside. The question they need to ask is, why would a private school teacher go into that park alone late at night? She was asking for trouble.”