Chief Briggs replied instantly. “Thank you for saying that in front of three police officers.”

I heard handcuffs clicking shut. My mother screaming. Melanie crying. My father shouting that it was all a misunderstanding.

And then, as they were taking them away, an old voice spoke up in the hallway.

“I waited twenty-six years to see someone stop Gregory Davis.”

I looked toward the door and saw the man from the window. He had a cane and a battered leather briefcase, and he was looking directly at me.

“I think it’s time you knew who I really am.”