The homicide bullpen was in full swing—phones ringing off the hook, Frost arguing with someone about surveillance footage, and Korsak munching on what looked like his third breakfast sandwich of the morning. Jane sat at her desk, squinting at a witness statement that made absolutely no sense, when she heard the distinct click of expensive heels on linoleum.

She didn’t even need to look up to know who it was.

“Please tell me you have something good for me, Maura,” Jane said, glancing up to find the Chief Medical Examiner approaching with a tablet in hand and that particular look on her face—the one that meant she was about to drop a bunch of science Jane would have to translate into normal people language.

“Well, good morning to you too, Jane,” Maura replied with a slight smile, setting the tablet down on Jane’s desk with a precise tap. “I’ve completed the autopsy on your John Doe from the harbor. The cause of death was actually quite fascinating—”

“Maura. Coffee first, fascinatingly gross death details second,” Jane interrupted, holding up her nearly empty mug as evidence. “I haven’t had nearly enough caffeine for ‘fascinating’ yet.”

Maura’s expression softened with fond exasperation, the kind that came from years of friendship and countless cases together. “Fine. But you’re going to want to hear this. The tox screen came back with some very unusual—”

“After. Coffee.”

Jane stood, already heading toward the break room with Maura falling into step beside her, still talking about alkaloids or toxins or something equally Maura-like. Some things never changed.