THE NEXT FRIDAY, Richie and John packed up a little bit earlier than they might have normally done and walked to Cobble Hill from the public defender’s office. They’d been invited, by Tyler of all people, to an impromptu party at a bar around the corner from Mary’s shop. They were going to celebrate her shop’s return to glory and all the hard work that Mary had put in over the last few weeks.

Richie had jumped on the invitation surprisingly fast. “I’m sick of seeing Hogan at Fellow’s every Friday night,” he explained to John as they weaved their way through the traffic on Court Street, ignoring the honking horns. It was the height of summer, but New York was rewarding good behavior with a surprisingly fresh night. There was a breeze and low humidity, but John knew that by next week, this would only be a fond memory. Even the sidewalks would sweat while the city baked from the inside out the way it did every August.

“I thought people generally liked being in the proximity of their crushes.”

Richie rolled his eyes and stepped aside to let a flock of pretty women in high heels scuttle past. “That’s only if there’s a possibility of the crush being requited. It’s hopeless in my case. And Hogan gets a kick out of winding me up.”

John frowned. “You think he knows how you feel?”

“I know that he knows. It’s an ego boost for him.”

John frowned, disliking Hogan even more than before. “That’s screwed up. You’re a person. He shouldn’t treat you like that.”

Richie shook his head and tossed his arm around John’s shoulders. “If only all the straight boys were as nice as you, John.”

John cocked his head to one side. “Must be something in the water lately. You’re calling me nice, last week Mary called me sweet and the week before that she said I had a big heart.”

Richie’s eyebrows rose. “And this surprises you?”

“I’m more used to being categorized as a dick, to be honest.”

“Yeah, but that’s only how you come off, John. It’s not who you really are. Anyone who really knows you figures that out pretty quickly. Hey, Beth!” Richie called suddenly, waving as he spotted their friend across the street, two blocks down from the bar.

She waved and waited for them to cross the street to her. “You guys headed to Mary’s party too?”

“Are you?” John asked in surprise.

“Yeah.” Beth bounced on her toes. “I’ve been stopping into her shop since the break-in to make sure she’s doing all right, and she invited me to come along.”

John couldn’t stop his incredulous chuckle, the shake of his head. “Jeez, is there anyone that woman can’t charm?”

Beth gave him a funny look. “She’s good people.”

“Yeah.”