Walt opened the passenger-side door and slowly climbed out of the car, grunting in the process. After righting himself, he closed the door and leaned down to peer through the open window.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Jim said. “You need a ride to the funeral?”

“No, I’m cleared to drive. And, I’m not sure what kind of shape I’m going to be in. I’d prefer to have my own getaway vehicle in case I have to make a stealth exit.”

“Understood. It’ll be a packed house. All the guys have been asking about you.”

Walt forced a smile and slapped the roof of the car a couple of times with strength he didn’t have.

“Thanks again, Jim.”

The following morning, Walt woke with a foggy brain jumbled with colliding thoughts and worries. First on his mind was his partner. Walt could not call Jason Snyder a close friend. Other than social work functions a couple of times each year, and the occasional beer when the timing was right, Walt had never spent much time with Jason outside work. Some partners clicked and became thick as thieves. Together for three years, Walt Jenkins and Jason Snyder had simply never grown close in that way. All Walt knew about Jason’s personal life was that he was married with no kids, and that he was close with his father, who had also been an agent back in the day. A shitty feeling of guilt plagued Walt throughout the night, causing him to toss and gingerly turn through the dark hours. By 4: 00 a. m. he considered himself a subspecies of the human race for never showing an interest in his partner’s life. And now that Jason was gone, Walt had the sudden desire to know him better. To be a better friend and a more protective partner. Walt had always claimed to have Jason’s back. An assertion that was as empty now as it sounded.

He stood in front of the bathroom mirror. The white bandage on his neck denied him the option of a necktie, and the gauze and tape were positioned too high for the collar of his shirt to conceal them. He carefully pulled on his suit coat and examined himself in the mirror. His ashen complexion and black-rimmed eyes, together with his bandaged neck, made him look like death warmed over. And though no one would blame him for that, Walt worried that his presence at the funeral might take attention away from Jason and his family. He concocted a plan to get in and out as quickly as possible.