Behind me a woman’s voice said softly, “She’ll be eating by herself by Friday,” and someone laughed into their coffee cup.

Kevin came home at seven forty with a stack of essays in his bag and his tie already loosened.

He filled a pot at the sink and asked how my day had gone, so I told him.

The tote, the five-year-old files, the account number.

He shut off the water with the pot only half full.

“You need to quit playing detective and start thinking about how this looks to my colleagues at the high school.”

“None of your colleagues work at Halvorsen and Pike.”