Lex sighed. “I don’t know what to do with you.”

“Do nothing. I promise, I won’t be back to work until March 15.”

“The feds are calling about you. Checking your credentials, verifying your identity.”

“Well, yeah. I’m a witness, I’d expect them to follow up.” Was she supposed to lie about being a cop? Like that would have gone over well with the feds.

“I had the feeling that they’re digging around more than they should. I called them back before they started making a stink. The kid I talked to—something Kim—he said they’re part of an FBI mobile response team, whatever the hell that means, and are tracking a serial killer. Not only are you a witness, but a serial killer? Really? Why can’t you binge watch Breaking Bad or The Wire to get your fix of violence?”

“I’m not looking for trouble.”

He actually laughed at her. “I’ve known you since the academy, sweetheart. You make it very easy for trouble to find you.”

Now she was pissed. “Look, Sergeant, I’m taking the time off you ordered me to take, and if the feds want my help, they’ll ask. If they don’t, they won’t. I’m not going to listen to you bitch and complain about what I’m doing or not doing on my fucking vacation. I’m the best fucking detective on your squad, and you fucking damn well know it.”

“Kara—”

“Are you going to order me to steer clear of the investigation? To sit on my ass watching Walter White run circles around cops and criminals alike? Or maybe I’ll binge watch SpongeBob and really let my mind and body go to shit.”

“You just don’t listen.”

“I listen, Lex.”

“You need time to process what happened on your last assignment. I would not be a friend or a boss if I didn’t recognize that that case got to you.”

“They all get to me because I deal with the scum of the earth. But we shut down the sweatshop, and I’m not losing any sleep over shooting anyone. It was justified, you know it, and I already spoke to Internal Affairs and a shrink and was cleared. This two weeks is bullshit, but I’ve taken it, haven’t I?”

“Kara—”

She didn’t want to continue this conversation; she didn’t want to take a lecture from her boss. Right. Her boss. She almost snorted. Technically Lex was her boss, but they’d also been friends for years. She trusted him, as much as she trusted anyone, but one of the problems was that he knew almost everything about her. He could push and pull her strings to make her explode or do anything he wanted. “What are you telling the feds?”

“I can’t tell them much of anything because most of your cases are sealed, but I had to give them something because they kept calling, and the last thing I need is someone from our local FBI office waltzing in asking about you. You didn’t make any friends with the feds down here.”