It was a workplace, a source of paychecks, and part of the community we were trying to protect.

I did not want to save one neighbor by failing another.

I thanked Denise for speaking plainly and promised that the first check would come with a written accounting.

PART 6

Rebecca answered my knock wearing her cleaning uniform.

It was nearly noon, but she’d only been home a little while after an overnight shift.

Her youngest son, Eli, had fallen asleep on the sofa with one sneaker still on.

Amanda sat at the kitchen table doing multiplication problems, and the middle child, Ben, was building a city from empty cereal boxes.