43Paul-Henri had just gotten back to the station after speaking with Merla, Ophélie, Edmond Nugent, and Nico, and was gratefully sinking into his chair, very pleased that he had the place to himself, when Ben strolled in.
“Ben,” he said, teeth gritted, though he did want to speak to the former chief.
“She’s not here?” asked Ben, gesturing to his former office.
“No. No idea where she is or how long she’ll be. You want to talk? I think we should go somewhere else. I don’t even want to think about what she would do if she saw us talking all cozy-like.”
“That’s fine. I have something for you this time. Don’t want you to feel like you’re doing all the giving.” He smiled, seeing fear flash Paul-Henri’s face. “Are…are things that bad?” he asked gently.
Paul-Henri shook his head. “Nothing I c
