"He called me at my dad's house about ten," O'Mara said. "He said he couldn't find you at your apartment. I called Captain Sabara:"
"And he said I'd probably be here?"
"Yes, sir."
"He got through to me," Wohl said. "But good job, Paul, running me down."
"Yes, sir. Miss Peebles asked me to stay…"
"How lucky for you."
"Captain Sabara said it would be all right."
"Paul, this is Matt Payne," Wohl said.
"Yes, sir, I know who he is." He put out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Payne."
"Paul took your job, Matt," Wohl said. "So far he's been doing a much better job than you ever did."
"Thanks a lot," Matt said.
Captain Mike Sabara, whose acne-scarred olive skin gave him a somewhat menacing appearance, walked up to them, trailed by his wife.
"How goes it, boss?" Sabara asked.
"Inspector," Mrs. Sabara said.
"Hello, Helen," Wohl said. "It's good to see you."
"How are you, Matt? How's things at East Detectives?"
"Take a note, O'Mara," Wohl said. "The inspector desires that supervisors read departmental teletypes."
Sabara looked confused and possibly a little worried, but before he could question the remark, Captain Dave Pekach came up.
"I'm glad you could come," he said. "Both of you. How's East Detectives, Matt?"
"O'Mara," Wohl said. "Take two notes. Same subject."
"Excuse me?" Pekach said.
"Gentlemen, permit me to introduce the latest addition to our happy little family. Detective Payne. The reason I know this is Detective Payne showed me the teletype transferring him. Which was nice, because it was apparently never sent to Special Operations, or if it was, nobody ever thought to tell me about it."
"Jesus, Peter, I didn't see it," Mike Sabara said.
"Me, either," Pekach confessed.
"Inspector, I did," O'Mara said. "I guess I should have told you, but I just thought you would know."
"I would have thought so too," Wohl said.
"Dammit," Dave Pekach said, and then stopped as Miss Penelope Detweiler walked up to them.
She took Matt's arm, leaned up and kissed his cheek, and then laid her head against his shoulder.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Penny."
"You know our hostess, of course," Matt said. "These delightful folks are Mrs. Mike Sabara, Captain Sabara, Captain Pekach, Officer O' Mara, and the boss, Inspector Wohl."