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you?”
    Rollo gave a resentful grunt.
    Spurlock said: “No further questions, your honor,” and sat down.
    The judge looked at the defense attorney. “Ms. Quinlan?”
    Victoria Quinlan rose for the cross-examination. Jane had never before dealt with this particular
    attorney, and she was not sure what to expect. As Quinlan approached the witness stand, Jane
    thought: You’re young, blond, and gorgeous. What are you doing defending this creep? The
    woman moved like a fashion model on a catwalk, long legs emphasized by a short skirt and
    pointy high heels. It made Jane’s feet hurt just to look at those shoes. A woman like Quinlan
    had probably always been the center of attention, and she was milking it now as she strolled to
    the witness stand, clearly aware that every man sitting in that jury box was probably staring at
    her firm little ass.
    “Good morning, Detective,” said Quinlan. Sweetly. Too sweetly. Any second now this blonde
    was going to sprout fangs.
    “Good morning, ma’am,” said Jane, utterly neutral.
    “You said that you are currently assigned to the homicide unit.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “And what new cases are you actively investigating right now?”
    “At the moment, I have no new cases. But I continue to follow up on—”
    “Yet you are a Boston PD detective. And at this moment, are there no murder cases that require
    vigorous investigation?”
    “I’m on maternity leave.”
    “Oh. You’re on leave. So you’re not currently with the unit.”
    “I’m performing administrative duties.”
    “But let’s be clear on this. You’re not an active detective.” Quinlan smiled. “At the moment.”
    Jane felt her face flush. “As I said, I’m on maternity leave. Even cops have babies,” she added
    with a note of sarcasm, and immediately regretted it. Don’t play her game. Keep your cool.
    That was easier said than done in this oven of a courtroom. What was wrong with the airconditioning anyway? Why didn’t anyone else seem to be bothered by the heat?
    “When is your baby due, Detective?”
    Jane paused, wondering where this was going. “My baby was due last week,” she finally said.
    “It’s late.”
    “So back on February third, when you first encountered my client, Mr. Rollo, you were—
    what? About three months pregnant?”
    “Objection,” said Spurlock. “This is irrelevant.”
    “Counsel,” the judge said to Quinlan, “what is the point of your question?”
    “It has to do with her earlier testimony, your honor. That Detective Rizzoli was somehow able
    to subdue and arrest my clearly able-bodied client in the stairwell all by herself.”
    “And the state of her pregnancy has what, exactly, to do with this?”
    “A three-months-pregnant woman would have a difficult time—”
    “She’s a police officer, Ms. Quinlan. Arresting people is her job.”
    Way to go, Judge! You tell her.
    Victoria Quinlan flushed at the setback. “All right, your honor. I withdraw the question.” She
    turned, again, to Jane. Regarded her for a moment as she considered her next move. “You said
    that you and your partner, Detective Frost, were both at the scene. That you and he made a joint
    decision to enter apartment two-B?”
    “It wasn’t apartment two-B, ma’am. It was apartment two- E. ”
    “Oh yes, of course. My mistake.”
    Yeah, right. As if you aren’t trying to trip me up.
    “You say you knocked at the door and announced that you were police officers,” said Quinlan.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “And this interaction had nothing to do with why you were originally in that building.”
    “No, ma’am. It was just a coincidence that we happened to be there. But when we determine
    that a citizen is in danger, it’s our duty to intervene.”
    “And that’s why you knocked at apartment two-B.”
    “Two-E.”
    “And when no one answered, you burst through the door.”
    “We felt a woman’s life was in jeopardy, based on the screams we heard.”
    “How did you know they