“We don’t bend on this,” I said to the quiet room.

Knox raised his head once, his dark eyes following my hand as I smoothed the wool lapels flat on the quilt.

I took the white dress shirt out of its plastic garment bag and pressed the collar flat with my thumb.

The black silk tie lay coiled in the drawer beside my dress socks and polished leather shoes.

I hung the dark wool jacket on a heavy wooden hanger on the closet door and checked my watch.

It was twenty minutes past eight in the morning.