while she was taken for scans.
He was younger than I expected but attentive, which mattered.
He listened.
I gave him the time of Marcus’s call, the text, the photograph, Chloe’s statement, and the terminal location. I instructed him to preserve the security footage before the system overwrote it.
He said an officer was already there.
Then I asked about the house.
He hesitated.
I recognized that pause.
It was how people decided how much truth an older woman could tolerate.
Say it, I told him.
Patrol went by the
