“I’m fired,” Sara said, rushing out the door.

“Excuse me?” Guff asked. Chasing after Sara, he followed her to Conrad’s office.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Sara asked as she barged inside.

“Calm down a second,” Conrad said. “I can explain.”

“How can you possibly explain? You found out I got fired and you didn’t even have the decency to tell me!”

“What’re you talking about? You’re not fired.”

“I’m not?” Sara asked.

“No,” Conrad said. “You’re just off the case.”

“What?”

“That’s what Monaghan told me. He says he can’t have a novice handling a first-class homicide. It’s too complex and there’s too much on the line. You’re supposed to turn over all your files to me.”

As Conrad’s words slowly registered, Sara turned to Guff.

“It’ll be okay,” Guff said. “We’ll figure out a way to-”

“No,” Sara blurted. “I have to stay on this case. This is my case.”

“I’m sorry,” Conrad said. “I know you’re upset, but I have to do what he says.”

“This has nothing to do with me being upset,” Sara said, her voice deadly serious. “I have to stay on this case.”

Conrad glanced over at Guff, then looked back at Sara. “What aren’t you two telling me? There’s obviously something important you’re leaving out.”

“There’s nothing,” Sara insisted. “I just need to be on the case.”

When Conrad stared at Guff, Guff said, “Stop looking at me – I didn’t do anything.”

“Sara, something is obviously going on.”

Her glance dropped to the floor, but she didn’t say a word.

“If you tell me, I can help you with it. Otherwise, you’re on your own and off the case.”

Still, Sara was silent.

“Fine, have it your way,” Conrad said, walking to the door. “I can get the rest of the files myself.”

As Conrad was about to leave, Sara looked over at Guff, who nodded back at her. Sara spoke up. “If I tell you, you have to give me your word that you’ll do things my way.”

Conrad closed the door and turned around. “Go on.”

“First, give me your word. Promise me that you’ll do things my way.”

“I’m not promising anything. Now tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Forget it,” Sara said.

Shaking his head, Conrad said, “Give me one good reason why I should take orders from you.”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll be putting my life and my family’s life in jeopardy.”

Sara let her statement sink in. Eventually, Conrad said, “I promise you, I’ll never do anything that will put you or your family in danger.”

“And I have your word on that?”

“You have my word.”

Taking a deep breath, Sara explained how she had been approached by Sunken Cheeks, and how he told her she had to win the case. From the threat he made about Jared to what he did to Pop, she told Conrad everything. Conrad didn’t interrupt once. Then, the moment Sara was finished, he said, “Are you telling me an outside party threatened you and you never reported it to anyone? What did I tell you about that? The system is set up to protect you when-”

“Conrad, no offense, but I don’t want to hear your lectures on the system right now. The system didn’t protect Pop, and it certainly can’t protect my husband. This psycho, whoever he is, has the fingerprints of a dead man, knows everything about me, approached me on a subway without me even knowing, and somehow got into my basement without a key. The truth is, he scares the hell out of me. Every time I walk into my house, I check the closets to see if he’s there. In the bedroom, I look behind the door to see if he’s waiting for me. He’s not your basic criminal, and until we know who he is, I see no reason to piss him off. He’s just asking me to do my job.”

“He’s not asking you to do your job. He’s threatening Jared’s life.”

“He wants me to win,” Sara shot back. “That’s all he wants. And you and I both know that I can give it to him. You may be a better prosecutor, but no one knows my husband better than I do. I know how he thinks, and how he fights, and who he talks to.”

“Like Lenny Barrow,” Conrad interjected.

“Exactly. Like Lenny Barrow,” Sara said. “Believe me, I don’t plan on letting this guy off the hook, but I can’t let you shut me out of this. It’s my family, my problem, and my case.”

“I don’t know…”

“Conrad, since the day we first met, I’ve followed your rules. If you said it, I did it. And I’ll always be grateful for that. Just this once, though, I’m asking you to see things my way. Help me stay on this case. That’s all I’m asking.”

For the next minute, no one said a word. “Let me think about it,” Conrad finally said. “We’ll talk again first thing tomorrow.”

“As long as you think carefully,” Sara said, heading for the door. “That’s all I ask.”

The following morning, Sara and Guff sat in Sara’s office, waiting impatiently for Conrad to arrive. “Do you think he’s going to go for it?” Guff asked.

“I have no idea,” Sara said. “Sometimes he seems so predictable, other times I can’t figure him out.”

“Predictable? Conrad’s never predictable. He may love to follow the rules and preach morality, but the moment he thinks it’s necessary, he’s prepared to drop that shtick and do what’s right. Don’t forget, he’s both a New York resident and a government employee. By definition, that makes him a realist.”

“I pray you’re right,” Sara said.

Ten minutes later, Conrad walked into Sara’s office. He shut the door and stood directly in front of her desk. “Here’s my offer,” he said. “First, I’m not dropping this case.”

“Then you can-”

“Hear me out,” he interrupted. “I’m not dropping this case, because Monaghan won’t let you do it alone. But I will agree to colawyer it with you. To everyone else, it’ll look like I’m in charge, but between us, we’ll be equal partners on it.”

“So I still get to run it and manage it as I see fit?”

“As we see fit,” Conrad corrected. “You have a lot riding on this case, but I won’t let you do anything illegal or stupid just to make a point. In my experience, emotion always wrecks rational thought. So if you step out of line, I’m going to yank your ass back.”

“But you’ll help me win?”

“Make no mistake, Sara, we’re going to win. No matter what your husband does, no matter how many motions he files, no matter how many designer-suit-wearing, expensive-tie-buying, Saab-driving, salon-styling, manicure-getting, mahogany-loving, conspicuous-consuming, overbilling, prestige-sucking, rich-ass lawyers he can find in that overhyped law firm, they’re going to shine our industrial-carpeted floors by the time we’re done with them. And whoever this fucker is that hurt your Pop – when this is all over, we’re going to do our end-zone dance on his mysterious but guaranteed to be kicked-in face.”

Sara grinned broadly.

“I knew he was going to say that,” Guff said. “So damn predictable!”

“Now, do we have a deal?” Conrad asked, offering a handshake.

“As long as you don’t tell Monaghan about the guy who threatened me.”

“Monaghan won’t hear a word. The only thing I’ve told him is how aggressive you are as a prosecutor and how late you love to work. You know he loves to hear that. Now, are you sure you’re ready to continue hunting for this guy?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Sara said, shaking Conrad’s hand.

“Good,” Conrad said as he sat next to Guff on the couch. “Because that’s where I want to start right now.”

“Wait, before we do that, tell me something,” Sara said. “What convinced you to keep me on the case?”

“All I had to do was put myself in your shoes. The moment I did that, I realized I’d want someone to step up for me. Now does that answer your question, or do you need me to feed you some psychological bullshit about how I needed to do this to exorcise my own personal ghosts?”

“Nope. That’s enough,” Sara said. “But if you keep doing nice things for me, I’m going to start telling people what a big softy you really are.”