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they are?”
    “No.” She hated the meekness in her voice. Bernadette could always do this to her, reduce her to a timid little mouse. And Melanie was
not
easily intimidated.
    “Principle number one: punish insubordination. Principle number two: reward initiative. Do you see how your actions force me to choose between them?”
    “Yes.” She despised her own weakness. But what could she do, not answer Bernadette’s rhetorical questions? That would read like rebellion.
    “I can’t have my people running around this city barging into crime scenes without my permission.
I
bring in the business around here.
I
make the assignments.
I
maintain the relationships with the bosses at NYPD and the federal agencies. Not you, not anyone else in this unit. Me. Is that understood?”
    “Of course, one hundred percent, Bern. I wasn’t trying—”
    “But having said that, I do try to teach you people to be go-getters, and your instincts were right in this instance. We should have this case. Jed was one of ours, after all. His murder should be ours.” Her voice cracked slightly, reminding Melanie that the victim wasn’t just any corpse.
    “Bernadette,” Melanie interjected, “I was at the scene last night. I have knowledge nobody else—”
    Bernadette held up her hand. “Quiet, please, I’m thinking!”
    Seconds passed as Melanie sat in suspense, waiting for Bernadette’s verdict. Her boss’s lips twitched into a sly smile.
    “Pop-quiz time, girlfriend. How are you planning to federalize this murder charge?”
    Melanie hadn’t had one second to hit the books since stumbling across the Benson crime scene last night, but she could fake it when she needed to.
    “Well, it depends on how the facts unfold, but there are several possibilities. May I borrow your code book?”
    Bernadette reached back to her credenza, where several fat paperback volumes stood upright between metal bookends. She yanked out one called
Federal Criminal Code and Rules
and handed it across the desk to Melanie. Melanie opened it, pretending she had a plan, doing her best to keep her face blank but feeling herself flush as Bernadette watched her. Bernadette must have been working on a RICO case recently, because she’d tabbed the racketeering statute. The book naturally fell open to it.
    “Here’s an option,” Melanie said, straining for a perky, confident tone. “Section 1959. Murder in aid of racketeering.”
    “Okay, but you’d have to prove up a racketeering enterprise. Not easy. Keep going. See anything else?”
    Melanie flipped pages, trying not to look nervous. “We could use Section 1958. Murder-for-hire. It’s a federal crime as long as interstate telephone lines are used and there’s evidence of payment. Or the drug-murder statute, if we can link the perpetrator to narcotics.”
    Bernadette raised her eyebrows, smiling broadly, enjoying watching Melanie scramble. “You’re really reaching with those. Your first shot was your best one, even if you only picked it because I had the statute marked. Give me the book, hon,” Bernadette said, chuckling.
    Melanie handed it back to her, spirits soaring at the sudden warmth in Bernadette’s voice. “The point is, Bern, we have options. Something’ll stick, I’m positive.”
    “You think on your feet, and I like that. Look, I’m gonna be frank. Your gutsiness last night weighs in your favor, but it’s not necessarily enough. Normally I wouldn’t consider handing you a case of this magnitude. It’s not a matter of talent. You’re good in front of a jury. You have a good head for investigation. But you’ve never been in the spotlight before. You’ve only done basic bread-and-butter stuff. And what’s more, you’re not performing up to your abilities right now.”
    “What do you mean?” Cold anxiety flooded her chest again. An encounter with Bernadette was always a roller-coaster ride.
    “Well, honestly, I question your commitment to the job. You have a new baby at home. That