“Dark circles.” Kate pointed under her own eyes. “Dead giveaway. Remember, we lived together for three years. Let me guess: a hundred milligrams of Imitrex and four hundred of ibuprofen every six hours, right?”

“More or less. Can we talk about something else?”

“Team doing okay?” Kate asked. “I hear you have two new ones. Steven Frames from the uniforms. Seems like an eager guy.”

“We’ll see. Long as he shoots the right people.”

“And a young woman. Eden something.”

“Somers. Yeah, she’s smart.”

“Martin says she’s pretty.”

“I guess.”

“You guess?”

“She’s just out of college, Katie. I’m her boss. You want to see my certificate in sexual harassment training? It’s around here somewhere.”

“You weren’t that old when we were together.”

“How about you? How’s Roger? Still helping the one percent keep its money?”

“Roger’s firm specializes in trusts and wills. It’s what he does. You should talk to him sometime. He could help you do some planning.”

“I don’t think planning’s where I need help.”

“He’s my husband, Eddie. He’s not the enemy.”

“If you say so.”

“You always seem to forget.” Kate frowned. “You’re the one who left me. Not the other way around.”

“I remember. I especially remember Sunday brunch. Shirred eggs with homemade salsa, sourdough toast.”

“And two fingers of Alquimia tequila on ice.”

“Good way to start the day.”

Kate smiled. “As I recall, that’s not the first thing we did to start the day.”

Mahler smiled back. For an instant, his memory pictured Kate pulling away her hair. Her face, with its soft, brown freckles, close to his own, her eyes shut as she leaned forward to kiss him.

“Sometime,” Kate said, “you’re going to have to confront this thing and not make a joke about it.”

“Let’s not go there. Not right now.”

“Why do you think your life’s like this? Where do you think the migraines come from?”

“Did you show up to bring me lunch or give me a hard time?”

“It’s not about me, Eddie,” Kate said. “It never was. Your heart got broken two years ago, but not by me. I loved you. I always will. But you loved this work more than anything. That girl, the second one who was killed, she’s the one who broke your heart. After her, you couldn’t love this job anymore.”

Mahler searched Kate’s eyes. “Wow,” he said quietly. “You are the same girl. Is that what you came to tell me?”

“I’m sorry. That was a lot all at once. It didn’t come out right.” Kate pushed at her salad with her fork.

They ate in silence.

“Why do you stay?” Kate asked. “Do you know? You’re smarter than the people you work for, and you don’t understand the ones who work for you.”