Before killing the motor, Decker turned on the dome light of the Plymouth and made a to-do list for the next morning. After having written down all minutiae that came to mind, he finally allowed himself to turn off the work meter. Decompression was a hard state of mind.

He shut off the engine, got out of the car, and walked out into perfumed darkness, the scent of citrus drifting through the air. Crickets were doing an abstract choral number; a nightingale, nested in a twenty-foot sycamore, was singing arias from The Magic Flute. The house was as still as stone when he opened the door. It took a few moments before he realized that a cot had been set up in the living room. A nightgowned figure rotated on a mattress too small for its girth, then sat up. In the moonlight, Decker made out Nora, the baby nurse. A few seconds later, Ginger’s hulking shadow came into view. She recognized her boss, jumped on Decker’s chest, and licked his face.

“How’s it going, girl?” he whispered.

The dog licked his face again, her tail swinging like a feathered window wiper.

“Hello?” the nurse whispered.

“It’s just me, Nora,” Decker said softly. “Sorry to wake you.”

“That’s okay, Sergeant.”

“Is everyone asleep?”

“We played taps ’bout ten o’clock. Your big girl was so exhausted, she nodded off in front of the TV. I practically had to carry her into bed.”

Decker smiled and scratched Ginger’s scruff. “The baby’s with Rina?”

“Yes, she is. You need to have a long talk with your wife, Sergeant. She isn’t going to heal if she keeps on overdoing it.”

Decker placed his briefcase on the dining-room table and sat down. “What’s she doing specifically?”

“Walking around when she should be in bed. Getting up for the baby. Why bother paying my wages, if she’s going to get up and feed the baby herself, tiring her poor body out? The child lets out a whimper, she whisks it out of the crib. She’s not only tiring herself, she’s not giving Hannah a chance to develop her sleep. She’s going to be a wreck if she keeps it up. Her mama’s worried sick about her, but there’s no talking to her when she gets an idea in her head.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Decker said.

“Well, don’t wake her now,” Nora said. “She and the baby just dropped back to sleep.”