And an unmarked grey SUV with a municipal plate.

And standing at the bottom of the ramp, in full uniform, with his cap in his two hands, was a man I had seen perhaps four times in six years at school events and had never spoken to.

Nathan Lin is six foot three.

He was forty-four at the time.

He is a lieutenant in the city’s fourth precinct and he had, that morning, been awake for twenty-six hours, because he had come off a night shift at six and had not gone to bed.

Officer Daniels opened our door from the outside, because of the handles.