“Not much to tell you, unfortunately. Two GSWs. We think at close range, but ballistics will confirm. Lauren’s body was found at five this morning by the duck pond in Central Park, which is between Seventy-Third and Seventy-Fifth Streets, so just a few blocks from her apartment. It’s not clear yet if she was murdered there or shot somewhere else and then moved.” He stops. “Anything I’m missing?”

“Richard’s story is that he knows nothing?”

“He was in no condition to be questioned. We tried, but like I said, he threw up before we got started. The cops who were first on the scene told me he was a total Sergeant Schultz.”

I’ve heard the Sergeant Schultz reference before, but I can’t recall its origin. I only know it means that Richard is not giving anything up.

“You need to track down Donald Chesterman,” I say.

“Yeah, I already mentioned that to Dana, but I couldn’t remember the guy’s name.”

Gabriel is writing Donald Chesterman’s name, so he doesn’t forget again. I’m focused on something else entirely, however.

“Dana?”

“Dana Goodwin. She’s partnering with me on this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Do you think she’s not right for this?”

Dana Goodwin replaced me as Lauren’s deputy. Before she got my job, I’d met Dana over the years only a handful of times—a consequence of the Manhattan DA’s office having hundreds of ADAs in its ranks—because Dana spent her career in General Crimes, whereas I had been a lifer in Special Vics. But I knew her by reputation. In fact, I’d wager every ADA knew her that way. She was universally recognized as the best trial lawyer we had. On top of which, she was beautiful. Her large eyes and slender neck conjured the image of a Golden Age movie star.

Lauren’s natural inclination had always been to reject long-term line ADAs for management roles because they had a difficult time transitioning from trying cases to acting as supervisors. “Once they’ve seen Paris, you just can’t keep them down on the farm” was how she put it. With Dana, Lauren said she made an exception because she saw something special in her. “Something like I saw in you,” she explained to me in that way parents sometimes do so you don’t think they like your sibling better.

I spent some time with Dana before I left, helping her transition into the job. It didn’t take me long to conclude that Lauren had made an excellent choice. Aside from being whip smart, Dana had an easygoing way about her and a sharp, cynical sense of humor that I’ve always found fun to be around. Of course, all of that only made me more jealous.