“Better get used to having me back,” Ramsey said, “because I’m here to stay.”

“What’s he saying?” Freddie asked when she came into the pit.

“I wasn’t listening.”

Freddie laughed. “I can’t believe we have to put up with him again.”

Sam shrugged. “Whatever. I’ll ignore him until he goes away for good after he’s found guilty of vandalizing my office. He can’t help himself.” She turned to Detective Green. “Can I have a word, please?”

Cameron jumped up. “Sure.”

Sam went into the office. “Close the door.”

He shut the door and took a seat. “What’s up?”

“I’d like to put you in charge of reviewing Stahl’s homicide cases.”

“The cold ones?”

“All of them.”

“Whoa.”

“The U.S. Attorney wants to look at every conviction that came from Stahl’s investigations. Not to mention, we’ve got defense attorneys filing for reviews of old cases.”

“That could be a big deal.”

“It’s already a big deal.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is. I’ll dive right in. Can I have help?”

“Jeannie and Matt can help you. I’ll partner up Cruz and Gonzo until I’m back to full steam.”

“I assume we’re doing this in addition to active cases?”

“You assume correctly.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll let the others know the plan. Appreciate you taking the lead on this.”

“Thanks for asking me.”

“Keep me in the loop on anything you find.”

“Yep, will do.”

“On another front, how are things with Gigi?”

His entire demeanor softened as he smiled. “Things are great. Never been better, in fact.”

“Happy to hear it. She’s doing all right?”

“I think so, but you should ask her. She’s very anxious to get back to full duty.”

“I’ll talk to her. Sometimes we say we’re fine when we’re not because we want back in the game so badly. I’ve been guilty of that myself—and probably will be again with this damned hip thing.”

“She’s much better than she was, but there’s still a fragileness to her that wasn’t there before. And she’d hate me for saying that.”

“I’d never repeat it, but I hear what you’re saying. Jeannie was like that for a few months after she was assaulted. As cops, we live under the assumption that we can take care of ourselves in all situations. It’s a shock to the system to realize that’s not always true.”

“I hadn’t thought of it quite like that, but you’re right.”

“I usually am.”

“God, I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

Sam flashed him a big grin. “That was a softball. Thanks for the insight. I’ll talk to her, too, and I won’t mention that I spoke to you.”