"Look who decided to grace us," Lafferty announced from his chair in a conference room when Nick walked in.

The smell of burnt coffee lingered in the air, reminding him of Milwaukee and his former life in the department. All of his senses were heightened now, had almost fully returned. He didn't know what to make of that.

Nick took a seat at the oversized table littered with coffee cups and powdered sugar from a box of donuts, but said nothing.

Lafferty pointed ...