Jack accompanied Laurie down the stairs and walked her to the corner. It was much easier to catch a cab on Central Park West.

As Laurie rode downtown she thought about the evening. She was thankful for Jack’s hospitality and friendship. Talking with him—even just about work—had calmed her down considerably and provided her with some perspective. What had disturbed her most about the episode with Paul was her inability to have a dialogue with him. She didn’t think of herself as being so rigid that she couldn’t agree to disagree on certain points, although that didn’t include his possibly selling illegal weapons. But if she and Paul couldn’t communicate, then Laurie saw no future for the relationship irrespective of their apparent day-to-day compatibility.

By the time Laurie got to her own street, her thoughts had turned to the case Jack had told her about, and she smiled anew about his experience in the funeral home. She hoped he’d not get into trouble for it or for the visit to the Brooklyn ME’s office. She was well aware that Harold Bingham and Calvin Washington had little patience for Jack’s maverick methods despite their appreciation of his intelligence and competence.

As Laurie undid the myriad locks on her door, her neighbor’s door creaked open. As per usual, Laurie caught a fleeting glimpse of Debra Engler’s frizzy gray hair and bloodshot eye. Debra saw fit to remind Laurie of the lateness of the hour.

Laurie didn’t respond. Her neighbor’s nosiness at any hour of the day or night was the only thing Laurie couldn’t stand about her living arrangement. She slammed her apartment door in protest and redid all the locks. She’d been directly rude to the woman on several occasions and had even told her to mind her own business, all without success.

Laurie petted Tom-2 and took off her coat in that order. Her affectionate Burmese was insistent and would have climbed up her leg if she’d tried to execute the two moves in reverse order. She even had to put the purring cat on her lap while she phoned Jack.

“Are you still awake?” Laurie questioned when Jack answered with a sleepy-sounding voice.

“Mostly,” Jack answered.

“I’m checking in, as requested,” Laurie said. “I’m home safe.”

“I wish you’d stayed,” Jack said.

Laurie wondered what he truly meant, but from previous experience, she knew better than to try to get him to explain. Besides, it was late. Instead she said, “I thought about Connie Davydov on the way home.”

“Did you come up with any new ideas?”

“I did,” Laurie said. “I thought of something else you could have Peter look for.”

“Good. What is it?”

“Botulinum toxin,” Laurie said. “It would have to be a high level, meaning she’d gotten a big dose.”

There was a silence.

“Jack, are you still there?”