He was wearing gray trousers and a white dress shirt, but his dark silk tie hung loose around his neck.

He walked straight up to the driver’s side of my car and rapped his knuckles on the window.

I put my purse over my shoulder, keeping the heavy leather strap close to my side, and pushed the door open.

“We need to talk like reasonable adults,” Mark said, stepping back just far enough to let me get out.

“I’m on my way to an eleven o’clock shift,” I said.

Mark reached into his front pocket and took out a thick white envelope.