That mattered because he had told investigators he never touched my drink.

A second lead came from an estate-planning service that had rejected a document submitted under Leticia’s name because the requested changes were inconsistent with information provided and required direct confirmation from me.

The employee had retained correspondence in which someone complained that I was “too attached to the daughter.”

I saw the words in Rachel’s office and thought of Valerie at the kitchen table with her schoolbooks, fifteen years old and asking if we could afford a telescope.

Too attached.