4 PM. The end of a long, draining, not very effective day, the November sun beginning to set. I finally finish packing up...when she's there.

Penny Proud, tears in her eyes. "I need you..." she whispers. In another second, she's jumped on top of me.

Holy Shit.

"I...I thought I could change him..." she sobs as I awkwardly try to push her off me. She just pulls me tighter to her, burying her face in my chest. "Please, Fillmore....I need you...I need you to rescue me...."

This is getting out of hand. I finally manage to push Penny back, grab her arms, and look her in the eye. "Penny, STOP.

Don't you see what you're doing? You're defining yourself by the people you're with. When you're with Roger, you try to 'change' him. You try to 'save' him. Now, you're trying to get me to 'save' you. I want to help you, Penny, but this is just making me part of the problem.

You can't define yourself by me, or Roger, or anybody. You have to ask yourself, 'Who is Penny Proud?'"

She stares at me a moment. Then at the ground. I can only hope I wasn't too harsh. "Penny...where is Roger right now?"

After a moment, she mumbles. "In the parking lot.

Waiting for Miss Grotke."

Snap.

Ingrid's standing by the door. "Let's move." We run out, leaving Penny with her thoughts.

"So...how long were you standing there?"

"Literally the entire time."

"Were you going to step in at all?"

"I was, but then you delivered that complete speech thing. Not bad for a guy who got a 'C' in psychology."

After that, I decide to focus on my running.

We barely make it to the parking lot before Grotke. Sure enough, Roger is there, crouched in the shadows, something, long, glinting, and sharp in his hands.

A switchblade.

"X MIDDLE SCHOOL SAFETY PATROL! DROP IT, KLOTZ!"

"Shit!" Roger shouts. And he's off like a rocket. This is off-topic, but I don't think there's EVER been a case I've had where the perp didn't run. I swear, I should just start whacking them in the head before I say anything.

Roger turns a corner. I take the lead, and follow him a second behind....

then everything goes slow motion. I'm aware of Klotz's horrible grin. I'm aware of his awful, gravelly laugh filling the air.

I'm aware that I'm chasing someone armed with a switchblade.