Page 35 of Rising Heat

“Exactly.”

“Cooper.” I don’t look up from the maintenance log.

“I’m just saying. That’s a good cat.”

“Write it a commendation,” Tyler says.

“Mock me now. That cat prevented a structure fire.”

“It also tried to bite Marco.”

Marco turns a page.

“I stand by my assessment.”

Coop points across the table.

“That’s because you threatened him.”

“I carried him out of a gas leak.”

“You violated his personal boundaries.”

Tyler snorts into his coffee while Coop looks at me for backup.

“The cat did a better size-up than the homeowner,” I say.

The table goes quiet for half a second. Then Coop points at me.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. The cat’s still reckless.”

“The cat saved lives.”

“The cat ignored evacuation orders.”

Tyler laughs.

The kitchen phone starts ringing somewhere behind us, but nobody makes a move toward it. At this point half the station assumes somebody else is going to answer first.

Marco finally glances up from his book.

“Fire Prevention finally catch up?”

“Probably.”

Tyler leans back in his chair, balancing it on two legs.

“You send the report already?”

“It was done before dinner.”

Coop drops his head into one hand.

“See, that’s what I’m talking about.”

“What?”