SERGEANT JEFFRIES BROUGHT Natty out to me in the waiting area. He left him in handcuffs, but neither of us complained. I knew this meeting was a huge breach of protocol. He moved to the end of the counter to give us some privacy, which also made me wonder what his exact relationship with my mother was. It might make for an interesting conversation when I saw her later that night.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen Natty in custody. I know it isn’t shocking to think a drug dealer might’ve been arrested more than once, and Natty had even done a ten-month stint in Ulster Correctional. Still, I didn’t like looking at him in handcuffs.

Natty seemed calm enough as he said, “Did you get a chance to talk to Lise? What did she have to say? Will she be at my bail hearing in the morning?”

“She said she’ll be there. She also said they recovered the gun that was used to kill Pete and that they have your fingerprints and possibly your DNA on it.”

Natty sat back, deep in thought. But he didn’t deny it like I was hoping he would. Finally, he said, “I know I played with his 9mm at his house one afternoon. I was visiting Katie and he had left the gun on a dresser.”

“Do you know how that will look? That’s just not a good explanation for why your fingerprints were on the gun. Plus, no one will believe you weren’t sleeping with her.”

“It’s a better explanation than me using it to shoot Pete.”

“But that’s the conclusion everyone will jump to. Especially after they discover you and Katie are involved. No one knows, right?”

“No. We were going to tell Pete about it soon and now she wants to wait a respectable amount of time before we take it to the next level or tell anyone. She’s really upset about Pete, but their marriage was over a while ago.”

“I don’t understand it, Natty. I’ve never seen you googly-eyed over a woman before.”

“Katie is different than any woman I’ve ever met. She could make me a better man. She’s honest and decent. That’s a lot to say about anyone. She’s an occupational therapist who works with autistic kids. That’s why she has all the stuffed animals around the house. I could see myself settling down with her.”

“Would you keep your current career if you settle down and had kids?”

That made Natty think. Sometimes I wondered if my brother ever considered the future. He looked at me with total sincerity and said, “I think I’d like to try something else. The paramedics are all so nice to me and they do important work. I wonder how hard it would be to become a paramedic.”