He thought about it.

“The sheriff, the judge, the clerk, and the man who’s about to call me.”

I reached down and tightened the lace on my right boot without untying it.

It didn’t need tightening.

The phone on his desk lit up and buzzed against the wood.

He watched it through three rings before he answered.

Under the folders by his elbow, a small silver recorder sat with its red light on.

He slid a file over it with the back of his hand and never looked at me.