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“How did she eat today?”

“All of breakfast and most of lunch. She went back for the rest at two. She drank twice this afternoon that I saw, and she spent an hour in the window bed watching the pigeons on the ledge across the courtyard. The litter box is normal. Dr. Feld said if she held steady through the weekend, we could stop measuring.”

“That’s a good day,” he said.

“It’s a remarkable day.”

He laughed as I put the lemons in the crisper drawer.

“Tomorrow,” he said. “I’m seeing Carla at eight thirty. Her office, door closed. I’ll walk her through the proposed arrangement first. Once she’s reviewed it, she’ll bring Leah in, and we’ll go over Leah’s approval authority with all three of us in the room. If anything comes up that needs you, I’ll call you right away.”

“What would need me?”

“Probably nothing. If Carla wants a change to anything involving your coverage, I want your approval before I agree to it.”

“And the statement?”

“I’m keeping that in reserve. Tomorrow is internal. Nobody’s announcing anything.”

I closed the refrigerator and leaned against it.

“Are you worried?” I asked.

“I know what needs to happen,” Mark said.

Mark’s voice sounded reassuring, but it wasn’t an answer to the question I'd asked.

Peaches stood, sniffed the closed treat jar, and sat back down beside it.

“I’ll call you at ten,” he said. “If it’s earlier than ten, it went quickly. If it’s later, it ran long, and that’s fine too. I’ve left room for it.”

“I’ll look forward to your call,” I said.

“Goodnight, Trier.”

“Goodnight.”

I opened the treat jar. Peaches had waited a long time. She’d earned one.

Then I picked my phone back up and set an alarm for nine fifty-five.

Chapter ten

Mark

Iset the proposal on Carla’s desk with the approval structure facing her.

I’d arrived with two copies, the statement, and a coffee I didn’t intend to drink. Carla entered, hung her coat on the hook behind the door, and closed the door before she sat down.

“You asked for thirty minutes and a closed door,” she said. “What do you need?”

“Trier and I have begun a relationship. I want to walk you through how the department handles it.”

Carla looked at me for a moment. Then she picked up the proposal.

“When?”

“Recently. Before anything about his coverage crosses my desk again, I want this structure in place.”