“Jesus Christ. Yes. Now give me the fucking gun.”

Langdon unholstered her handgun and handed it to me. I checked it and familiarized myself with it. I stood up and looked around.

“My name is Anthony Valdez and I am a dispatcher, licensed and bonded with the State of Illinois,” I said, loudly, to the now-considerable assembled crowd. “I judge this woman to be in a near-death state. As she is unresponsive, by State of Illinois law I am assuming her implied consent to dispatch her safely and humanely. You may all witness and record this action but be aware live ammunition is to be used.” Some of the crowd backed away at that last sentence. But none of them left.

I knelt back down, positioned Langdon’s handgun close to the fallen woman’s temple, and fired.

The woman’s body jolted and was still.

It was, literally, deathly quiet.

And then, with the familiar sucking pop of inrushing air, the woman was no longer there.

There was scattered applause as the crowd realized that accident victim was still alive. Then the crowd began to disperse.

I returned the handgun to Langdon, who checked it and holstered it. I pointed to the woman’s bloody clothes, which lay in the street where she had been. “You should check those for ID.”

“After you.”

“You’re the cop here.”

“Yes I am, and now I’m going to have paperwork to fill out, because my weapon was discharged.”

“Join the club. I have paperwork on this and on the hospital dispatch. I have no sympathy for you.”

“I’m still holding you to your promise. About coming with me to see Katie Albert.”

“That was a shitty thing to do, by the way.”

Langdon nodded. “Well, if the result is we find Jimmy Albert, then I can live with it.”

There was a noise from the street. It was the accident victim’s cell phone, blasting out a ring tone. We both stared at it for several seconds.

“You going to answer that or what?” I asked Langdon.

She sighed and went to go pick up the phone.

Chapter Three

“You okay?” Langdon asked me, as we waited to be buzzed into the apartment Jimmy Albert shared with his wife.

“I’m fine,” I said.

“You look a little tense.”

“I don’t usually go with cops to talk to people.”

“Yeah, but that’s not it. It’s something else.”

“I told you it’s complicated.”

The door buzzed, signaling Katie was letting us in. Langdon grabbed the door to open it. “Did you sleep with her or something?”

“What?”

“Jimmy Albert’s wife. Are you having sex with her?”

“No.”

“That would explain the tension.”

“That’s not it.”

“You sure?” Langdon held the door open for me to go through.

“I would remember sleeping with Katie,” I said, and walked in.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you would tell me about it.”