Ben stopped pacing. “But it’s gone now, isn’t it? It burned up in a fire, a fire you were right in the middle of. And even if it hadn’t burned, it’d be inadmissible, seeing as you picked your way into that shop. Taking your childhood buddy, the ex-con turned hash slinger, along with you for the ride.” He resumed pacing, too agitated to stand still. “You’re out of control, you know that? You’re trying to get yourself killed, that’s what you’re doing. You’ve got no backup, no nothing. I ought to lock you up.”

Marta and Weber stepped back, melting into the background. I stepped back, caught off guard by the heat. That’s what he was worried about? Not being there to back me up? I watched as he put distance between us, livid, unable to even look at me. I realized then that I hadn’t seen Ben with his partner, Paul Grimes, for a while. Grimes was green, but a fast learner. I thought they made a great team. “Where’s Paul? Why is Weber always with you?”

Weber cleared his throat, stepped forward tentatively. “Grimes transferred out. We’re partnered up on a temporary basis. Seeing how it goes.”

“What happened to Farraday?” Even saying his name tensed me up.

“Yeah, that was a nonstarter, for obvious reasons.”

I stared at them, first one, then the other. My ex-partner and Weber were now partners. I let that sink in, and then took a moment to panic about it. A lot of confidences had flowed back and forth between Ben and me in that unmarked car. Suddenly it felt like the walls were closing in. “When did all this happen?”

Ben turned to face me. “I tried telling you. If you hadn’t been climbing on and off buildings like Spider-Man, I might have found a chance to try again, or you might have noticed long before now.”

I stared at Weber, waiting for an explanation. He’d had plenty of time to tell me. We’d been circling each other for days. He commandeered my booth at Deek’s. I waited for an explanation.

“I thought it should come from him,” Weber said.

Ben paced a couple steps more, then rushed out of the room without saying anything more, banging the door back as he tore through it. I worried him. It was a little weird still for the both of us not being there when the other hit the streets. Ben had a new partner, another new partner. I was doing it alone. At that moment, it dawned on me that he’d had three partners since I turned in my star. He hadn’t been able to stick with any of them. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling all of two inches tall.

Neither Marta nor Weber said a word as I walked out of the room.

* * *