He stood at the foot of the bed and looked at me with solemn eyes. I sat on the side of the bed and looked at him with whatever kind of eyes I had at the time. We did this for nearly three minutes.

I used part of the time measuring the distance between us, figuring out how, by throwing my body back on the bed and turning on my hip, I could get my heels in his face if he jumped me. He was too close for me to pull the gun. I had just finished this mental map-making when he spoke:

“That lousy ring wasn’t worth no grand. I did swell to get two centuries for it.”

“Sit down and tell me about it.”

He shook his head again and said:

“First I want to know what you’re meaning to do about it.”

“Cop Whisper.”