He lit a cigarette. “Look, I’m going to say something to you, and you ain’t gonna like it. You’ve always been this reserved, professional lady - someone real slow to let you in, but once the person’s there, he’s there. He’s got a damn friend for life and you’d do anything for But you’ve been different this past year. You’ve had about a hundred walls up ever since Mark got killed. For those of us around you, it’s like being in a room that was once seventy degrees and suddenly the temperature’s down to about fifty five. I don’t think you’re even aware of it.”

“So nobody’s feeling all that attached to you right now. Maybe they even resent you a little bit because they feel ignored or snubbed by you. Maybe they never liked you anyway. Maybe they’re just indifferent. The thing about people is, whether you’re sitting on a throne or a hot seat, they’re going to use your position to their advantage. And if there’s no bond between you and them, that just makes it all the easier for them to try to get what they want without giving a rat’s ass about what happens to you. And that’s where you are. There’s a lot of people who’ve been waiting for years to see you bleed.”

“I don’t intend to bleed.” I pushed my plate away.

“Doc” - he blew out smoke - “you’re already bleeding. And common sense tells me that if you’re swimming with sharks and start bleeding, you ought to get the hell out of the water.”

“Might we converse without speaking in cliches, at least for a minute or two?”

“Hey I can say it in Portuguese or Chinese and you’re not going to listen to me.”

“If you speak Portuguese or Chinese, I promise I’ll listen. In fact, if you ever decide to speak English I promise I’ll listen.”

“Comments like that don’t win you any fans. That’s just what I’m talking about.”

“I said it with a smile.”

“I’ve seen you cut open bodies with a smile.”

“Never. I always use a scalpel.”

“Sometimes there isn’t a difference between the two. I’ve seen your smile make defense attorneys bleed.”

“If I’m such a dreadful person, why are we friends?”

“‘Because I’ve got more walls up than you do. The fact is, there’s a squirrel in every tree and the water’s full of sharks. All of them want a piece of us.”

“Marino, you’re paranoid.”

“You’re damn right, which is why I wish you’d lay low for a while, Doc. Really,” he said.

“I can’t.”