CanI tell you something? Off the record?"Alex nodded."Before I took this job, I...

Can
I tell you something? Off the record?"
Alex nodded.
"Before I took this job, I used to work in Maine. And I had a case that wasn't just a case, if you
know what I mean."
Alex did. She found herself listening in his voice for a note she hadn't heard before-a low one that
resonated with anguish, like a tuning fork that never stopped its vibration. "There was a woman
there who meant everything to me, and she had a little boy who meant everything to her. And when
he was hurt, in a way a kid never should be, I moved heaven and earth to work that case, because I
thought no one could possibly do a better job than I could. No one could possibly care more about
the outcome." He looked directly at Alex. "I was so sure I could separate how I felt about what had
happened from how I had to do my job."
Alex swallowed, dry as dust. "And did you?"
"No. Because when you love someone, no matter what you tell yourself, it stops being a job."
"What does it become?"
Patrick thought for a moment. "Revenge.