“I don’t discuss my family in a hallway.”

She left the roses on the counter and walked away.

Her hand stayed at her throat, pulling the pearls tight.

Higgins watched her go.

“Nobody sits on a floor for forty-five minutes by accident,” he said, to no one in particular.

At the end of the corridor, her hand came up and pulled at the necklace again, and then she turned the corner.

Pendelton read the motion twice, set it down, and squared it with the edge of his blotter.