As he rolled onto the long dirt road that led to Norm’s place, Jake recalled being there once for a cookout years ago. Damn, he thought. That was more than twenty years ago. Decades had passed in the blink of an eye.

Norm’s sprawling ranch house sat at the end of the road, on a scenic wooded lot. When he was still working for the department, his colleagues had teased Norm about commuting from Annapolis. He would say that when you lived in paradise, the commute was no bother.

That commute would’ve been a bother for Jake, who would’ve found the hideous traffic between Annapolis and DC unbearable.

Jake parked in the driveway and headed for the front door, where Norm waited to greet him with a handshake and a welcoming smile.

“This is a nice surprise, my friend.” Norm led him into a warm, cozy space with a fire in the hearth and jazzy music playing. “What can I get you?”

“I’m good, and it’s nice to see you. Been too long.”

“Sure has. You know we’re getting old when we only see each other at funerals.”

Jake laughed. “Ain’t that the truth? How’s the family?”

“Everyone’s good,” Norm said. “Just had my twelfth grandchild. That’s where the missus is now. Helping with our daughter’s older kids while the new parents tend to the baby.”

“I’m still waiting on my kids to get me some grandkids. They’re not in any hurry.”

“Mine were in their thirties before they got serious about having kids. I gotta say… I was so sorry to hear about Skip’s son-in-law. What a tragedy.”

“It sure is, especially since Angela is expecting their third child in June.”

“Goodness. That’s terrible. Do they have any idea what happened?”

“Not yet. It’s early days. You know what that’s like.”

“I sure do. People want answers, and they want them now. They don’t want to hear that answers take time.”

“Exactly.”

“Any suppositions with Spencer?”

“Not that I’m aware of, but I’m currently out of the loop.”

“Ah, right, the thing with Ramsey’s kid. That was a clean shot, Jake. Any of us would’ve done the same thing to save that girl.”

“My conscience is clear on it, even if I wish it hadn’t happened. Taking out the son of one of my officers isn’t something I thought I’d ever do.”

“The job comes with all sorts of things we never could’ve imagined for ourselves.”

“Indeed, it does. Including cleaning up the messes of officers now doing time for attempted murder.”

“I wondered if Stahl and his messes were bringing you to see me. I didn’t have a ton of contact with him. He moved into Homicide around the time I was retiring, but I do remember him being a unique sort of guy.”

“He was unique all right,” Jake said with a scowl. “Uniquely unpleasant.”

Norm laughed. “Which is how I recall him. Always beefing over something.”

“Just like Ramsey. They’re the ones who make the rest of us look bad.”