The seven-foot-tall Muppet with the wolf snout and bull horns grabbed the last of the interlopers who was still on his feet and plucked his gun away from him with one hand while holding him up high with the other. He kicked uselessly like a boy throwing a temper tantrum.

“QUIET,” the beast roared. Everyone took his advice.

Billy Ray held his foe by a tight grip on his tie and glared him into utter complacency. He looked around the room where most were still shakily settling down. Some glared up at the ceiling, weapons out and waiting, but neither thugs nor money fell from the ceiling to join them.

“You look like crap.”

“Thanks,” Michelle said, opening the door wider. Mrs. Klein from across the hall stepped into the apartment.

“How’s the kiddo?”

“Not good,” Michelle replied softly. She went into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for Mrs. Klein. Cream, no sugar.

“Thanks for coming over,” Michelle said, handing the cup to Mrs. Klein. “She had a bad night and I have Committee stuff to catch up on. I’d rather not leave her, but I think she’s going to be okay for now.” She rubbed her gritty eyes. “When we got back from the PPA, the psychologists warned me that she might have a delayed reaction from all the stuff that happened there. I guess it finally caught up with her. I made an appointment to take her to see the doctor tomorrow.” She glanced over her shoulder. Adesina was still wrapped up in her pale blue blanket and curled into a ball on the sofa. She was asleep at last.

“I’ll make sure she’s okay. And you know I never mind looking after her. She’s a sweet girl.” Mrs. Klein took a sip of her coffee. “And you still make lousy coffee, Michelle.” She put her cup on the dining-room table.

“Oh, hell,” Michelle said. “I just remembered I forgot to call Joey back after Adesina’s bad dream.”

“You’ll never keep a girlfriend that way,” Mrs. Klein said, giving Michelle a smile.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Michelle replied. She could feel her cheeks getting warm. “We’ve already talked about this.”

Mrs. Klein shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I like her. And I think you like her plenty, too. But what do I know. I’m just the old lady who lives across the hall…”

Mrs. Klein was giving Michelle her usual hard time, though more kindly than usual. Michelle thought seriously about hugging her, but decided that would be awkward. Mrs. Klein was many things. But a hugger wasn’t one of them.

“What the hell is going on?” Ray asked.

He and the Angel were in Mendelberg’s office, which was as good a place to be as any in the precinct. Lonnegan was actually sitting at Mendelberg’s desk, her feet up on it, looking pensive. The Angel was in one of the overstuffed chairs before it. Both were watching Ray pace around the room. “Norwood,” he said. “Dead.”