Marie stands with the Lieutenant just outside his office. He has his hand raised with a drink in it, as the rest of the detectives and I do. Marie's smiling, but I can tell it looks hollow.
"I want to thank Officer McHenry for the fantastic work she did. We gave her an impossible task that somehow she managed to execute. To McHenry!" He raises his glass, and we all take a sip of the cheap champagne he bought. It's not like we have much of a budget. "I also want to apologize for all the secrecy lately. I should have known that no one in this department would have ever been leaking information, but maybe I let my personal…" he trails off as he thinks of his son, and his eyes mist over. "Well, point is, it's going to be over soon. Now that we know the FBI is involved, we know how to work around them. It's only a matter of time before we have the opportunity to take down these bastards."
"I'll cheers to that!" someone else yells out, and everyone laughs in agreement.
"Alright, enjoy the cake, and then get back to work!" Ebert adds. I haven't seen him this lighthearted in a while. It makes for a nice change.
Marie finishes her champagne in one gulp, and tosses the red solo cup. I head over to her warily. It's been a little tense between us.
"Feels strange to see you in the uniform," I comment.
"Feels strange to wear it," she replies. A button pops open on the front of her shirt, and she curses under her breath as she refastens it. "Thanks for the groceries. I assume that was you."
"Didn't want you to come back to an empty refrigerator."
"How'd you get in?"
"I told the super you were a person of interest in an investigation and he let me in."
She laughs. "That explains the suspicious look he gave me."
"Are you glad to be back? Even a little?"
"Of course. Though it does feel weird to have everyone calling me Marie, or McHenry, again."
"Well, you did great work. You're a real hero around here." She smiles weakly. "Even if you don't feel like one," I add.
"Do you know if Ford's been arrested yet?"
"No, they must still be trying to gather evidence. They must want to corroborate Tank's claim."
"He is an untrustworthy rat, so that makes sense," Marie replies bitterly.
"You have to put it all behind you," I tell her.
"It's only been a few days."
"I know, but…"
"I don't think you do know, Drew. Or I guess I should start calling you Stewart again."
"You don't have to."
"Everyone around here calls you by your last name."
"You're not everyone," I tell her.
"You shouldn't say that."
"I'm sorry I had to push you the way I did. I was just worried that you were getting too close, and when you got out and had a little distance, you'd see things more clearly."
"I know," Marie says with a little shrug.
"So, was I right? Do you see things more clearly?"
"I guess so," Marie tells me. "But…what if he didn't do it?"
"Who?"
"Ford. What if he didn't murder that guy?"
"How would you know?" I ask her, feeling concerned.
"I asked him," she whispers.
"Marie! What were you thinking!" I hiss. "That was classified information!"
"He doesn't know how I got it, okay? He probably thinks I heard it from one of the other sweet butts."
"And let me guess, he denied it."
"Well, yes, but it wasn't like that. He says he staged the whole thing. He was actually trying to save the guy's life."
"He beat him to death to save his life?"
"Not to death! That's the—would you please take me seriously?"
"It's hard to when you're emotionally compromised."
"I'm not—" she stops and takes a deep breath. "Fine, I won't deny I developed some feelings for him." At her admission, my lungs feel like they catch on fire. "Anyone in my position would have. But I'm telling you, I got to know him well enough to know when he was telling the truth and when he wasn't, and he didn't kill that guy."
"Well, if he didn't, then the FBI won't arrest him."
"Or they'll decide the word of Tank, their beloved rat, is enough and arrest him anyway."
"You don't have any actual evidence to the contrary."
"I know, I know," she mutters.
"Look, you have to put all this behind you, or you're never going to be able to move on. There's a lot waiting for you outside the world of the Death Dealers. Men who aren't thieves and killers." She looks up at me, a hint of defiance in her eyes. I wonder if she's going to argue with me, but instead it seems like she's waiting for me to continue. I clear my throat. "I didn't necessarily mean me."
"Uh-huh," she replies.
"Was I going to see if you want to get a drink sometime? Yes, but purely as a welcome back type thing."
She smiles. "Let me settle in a little first."
"Sure, no problem," I reply, and she heads over to where some of the other detectives are chomping down the cake.
I watch her, trying to be inconspicuous. Soon, she'll forget about the Death Dealers, she'll forget about Ford, and everything will be normal again. And I'll finally have my chance.