“Oh! Right. John, I found this in my shop yesterday and I wanted to return it to you. I was going to leave it at your office, but when I got to the public defender’s office over on Fulton, the receptionist told me that you were here for the day, so here I am. I would have brought it up to your meeting room, but, rest assured, the security here is very good.” She grinned at Carlo, and Carlo went a shade of peach that John had never seen him go before.

“Ah.” John reached out for his driver’s license, concluding gloomily that there was very little chance that Mary had identified its owner without looking at the photo of him. The photo where he pretty much glowered like a clean-shaven Blackbeard. Ah well. “Thanks. I hadn’t even noticed it was missing yet.”

“Well, I’m going out of town until tomorrow night, and I wanted to make sure you had it before I left.” Mary checked her phone. “Actually, I’d better get going to Penn Station if I’m going to make my Amtrak.”

“John,” Richie said in a voice that was decidedly not his normal speaking voice. “Aren’t you going to catch the train right now as well?”

John swallowed, his eyes narrowing on Richie’s mischievous expression. “I’m taking the F, not the A.”

“But the A takes you to the E, which will get you to the Q100 just as fast as the F,” Richie said helpfully, his voice as sickly sweet as a Coke stirred with a sugar straw.

“Maybe even faster,” Carlo cut in, laughter dancing in his eyes.

Considering himself boxed into a corner with no graceful way out, John turned to Mary. “I have to go up and get my bag and paperwork before I can head out. Do you have five minutes?”

She checked the time again. “I have up to fifteen minutes, if I’m feeling crazy.”

“Be right back.” He silently willed Richie to come upstairs and leave Mary alone, but of course his nosy friend started chatting her up the second John took a step away. He sighed and made his way to the elevators, scarfing down his lunch on the way up. He had just enough time to wash his hands, steal a breath mint from the front desk and grab his things before he headed back downstairs. Richie, Carlo and Mary still stood in the same formation, all three of them laughing as John approached.

“Ready?”

“Ready. Bye, Carlo. Bye, Richie!” Mary waved at them both and turned just in time to miss Richie sticking his fist underneath his shirt and making his heart beat like a cartoon. Carlo, a bit more subtle, merely looked at Mary’s back with the moderate wistfulness of a man who was actually very happily married.