“So, what do you make of the note the killer left for you?” Mann said, as they coasted to a stop in front of the house.

“The surface is too rough to get good prints, but maybe when they analyze it at the lab they’ll find some of his blood or—”

“That’s not what I meant,” Mann said, cutting him off.

Coletti knew exactly what Mann meant, but he didn’t want to think about it, much less talk about it. However, since his young partner had asked the question, he decided to tell the truth.

“The note tells me two things,” Coletti said with a look of determination. “He’s underestimating me if he thinks the only way I can stop this is by believing in angels. And he’s got me all wrong if he thinks I’m gonna play his game.”

“Yeah, but you can’t just ignore the fact that he’s trying to communicate with you,” Mann said earnestly. “That passage out of Daniel is a clue, and if he thinks you’re part of some kind of prophecy, we ought to use that to our advantage.”

Coletti sighed impatiently. Then he turned to his young partner and told him like it was.

“You know, Charlie, I used to be a lot like you,” he said, his tone even and steady. “I came to the department from the army the same way you came from college. I thought I knew everything because I’d been overseas and seen a little bit more than other people. But in reality, everything I knew about life, I’d learned by watching people who came from South Philly just like I did. People like Frank Rizzo, who fought his way to City Hall before he lost an election, and died trying to make it back to the top. People like Angelo Bruno, who ran the South Philly mob from a little row house, ’til they shot him right in front of it.

“Now I’m watching you, Charlie, and it ain’t a pretty sight. You know why? You’re just like me. You think you can be top dog because you’re smarter than everybody else, and who knows, maybe you are. But here’s a little tidbit I learned from watching people rise and fall: You only get one chance to be on top. Don’t waste it trying to school me on things you know nothing about.”

Coletti got out before Mann could respond. Reluctantly, Mann followed, walking slowly up the steps of the corner row house and contemplating kicking his new partner in the behind. He looked around quickly and saw that the crime scene tape from the earlier drive-by shooting was gone, though the spots where the casings had fallen still bore chalk marks and the faces of the neighbors still bore pain.