Miles didn't budge. Her stare had nothing on his ammi's, and she didn't know his middle name besides. His trouble sense was therefore not tingling.

(His trouble sense, he knew, was severely broken.)

"If you're 'keeping an eye on him' as a person of interest," he said, "then it'd be counterproductive to make sure that case goes anywhere, yeah? What, you're just going to make him think he's gotten away scot-free so he can kill again? He's not enough of a public menace for you?" It was the last thing she said, though, that tipped him over into pissed.

"Valdis, you had better not be telling me to drop a story because it would be more convenient for you that way," he said acidly.