“I’ll keep you posted,” Best said. “Give my best to the LT.”

“Will do,” Gonzo replied.

After Best left the office, Gonzo said to Jeannie, “You should be really proud of the work you did here.”

“Then why do I feel like I’m going to vomit?”

“Because this stuff is horrifying and disgusting.”

“And because if Stahl had given a flying fuck about Carisma eleven years ago, we could’ve prevented all those poor babies from being thrust into hell.”

“Yeah,” Gonzo said, sighing. “That, too.”

“I don’t know what to do with my outrage over this, Gonzo. As a Black woman, soon to be a mother… How could he just ignore her?”

“I don’t know. I’ll never understand how someone could fake an investigation into a missing kid. Would you consider talking to Trulo about how you’re feeling?”

Jeannie shrugged. “Sam says I have to, so I will.”

“Despite all this, we still have a job to do, and if you’re going to have trouble doing it, that’s what he’s there for.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’ll take care of it.”

“Keep me in the loop, okay?”

“I will.”

After she left the room, Gonzo stared out into the pit for a long time, thinking about the horrors they faced on the job. Some were worse than others, and he was concerned for his colleague and friend, who’d already dealt with significant trauma on the job. While he was temporarily in charge, he would keep a close eye on her and make sure she talked to Trulo.

Sam didn’t know where she was or what was going on when she opened her eyes to bright lights overhead. A low, dull hum of pain radiated from her right side, and when she tried to move, a woman was there to tell her to stay still. Who was she? Where was this place? What was happening?

“Mrs. Cappuano, how are you feeling?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m your nurse, Mindy. Remember me from before?”

She didn’t. “No.”

“You had surgery on your fractured hip, and it went very well. Dr. Thurston will be in to see you in a few minutes.”

It was all coming back to her now. Four to six weeks. Motherfucker. “Where’s Nick?”

“He’s waiting to see you.”

“Can you get him?”

She patted Sam’s shoulder. “Of course.”

Sam closed eyes that were too heavy to keep open. The next time she opened them, she was in a different room, and Nick was standing next to her bed, running his fingers through her hair.

“There you are,” he said with a relieved smile. “Don’t leave me like that again. I missed you.”

“Where’d I go?”

“Three hours of surgery and another hour in recovery is a long time for me to be without my Samantha.”

“That’s not as long as a workday.”