The worst thing about teenagers, Flynn told himself, was that they believe they are adults and their parents think they are toddlers, and neither was completely right. He had one couple in Interview One, a trio in Interview Two and a grandfather and his twenty-something girlfriend in Pope's conference room, 'cause he figured Chief Pope wouldn't be using it any time soon. All of them wanted to know where their children were. The fathers seemed to think the kids had been arrested, and the mothers wanted to know if they should take them to the hospital.

And if Flynn mentioned the word "morgue" Brenda Leigh Johnson would put him in it right alongside the kids. She would want to talk to these people herself, to break the news herself and watch their reactions. Flynn was a hardened investigator, but the whole process seemed horribly ghoulish.

The door to the Murder Room squeaked open.

"Chief?" he called. It was about time...

"Nobody here but us chickens," said Russell Taylor. "The rest of them not back yet?"

"She sent me back to watch the families."

"I thought the families were out of town."

"There were guests, teenagers. Their families."

"So you're babysitting."

"Yeah."

Uncomfortable silence settled over them.

"You never did that when you worked for me."

"I know."

"I'm just saying, three shots fired at police, you'd think she'd need her whole team."

"She does need me. She needs me here."

"If you say so." Taylor said with a smile.

"I do say so, I do. I... Hey, how many...?"

"How many what?"

"The whole time, in Robbery/Homicide, how many... how many families killed their own kids?"

Taylor rubbed his chin.

"It happens," he said. "Is that what happened here?"

"We don't know yet, but... but I was just trying to get my head around it."

He almost stumbled when Taylor clapped him on the back.

"Just be glad you haven't got it in your head," he said. "And Andy? I'm glad we can talk again."

"Yeah," said Flynn. "Me, too. Thanks, Commander."

"Oh, no," Taylor said. "Thank you."