“Look,” he says, and I catch it, the way his voice has shifted, no longer surprised, or pleading for me to do the right thing; his tone is impersonal and distant. “You were right about something amiss at Kap-O and the empty time on Jay’s call log. You found the second phone and folder when our other leads had dried up. But you entered a residence without permission—twice, if we consider the fact that you never should have gone with Ben. You’re currently suspended without police powers. I don’t know if the fire messed with your memory, and you’ve forgotten the rules, or you just don’t care. But we don’t all get second chances, and I can’t trust your judgment anymore.”

“Trust,” I repeat bitterly.

I know he’s right. I’ve seen the statistics, know that every time I drag him into something, he takes a greater disciplinary risk. But something ugly and angry bubbles inside of me.

“What about you leaving me for Oliver?” I demand, the hurt so raw and real, it must be visible on my face. “I’m in the hospital, and suddenly Oliver’s on the case? You knew how important this was. You knew”—I take a breath—“about Craig. But you let Truman replace me. And I’m the one you can’t trust? Oliver wants to wrap up this thing so badly, it’s clear something else is going on.” I fold my arms over my chest. “All I did was crash a party.”

Teddy shakes his head. “It’s not about that.” He takes a breath. “Forget that you went into the house without a warrant. That if you found anything, it couldn’t be used in the investigation. How do you explain what you did to Cindy? You thought the Kap-O guys were violent and you brought her to their house. Worse”—he lifts his hand when I open my mouth—“you left her there, drunk and alone with potential murderers, arsonists, or both, while you poked around the basement.”

I look at myself reflected in his eyes and I don’t like what I see. The anger that had been buoying me cracks, and I feel my shoulders deflate.

“She trusted you,” he says. “She still defends you, by the way. Said she begged to go, wouldn’t take no for an answer. But, of course, she didn’t know what you were really doing, and you didn’t bother to tell her.”

He stares at me, and I squirm under his scrutiny.

“How could you leave her like that?”