The detail they had missed was simple.

I had never booked a flight.

The trip to Chicago existed only as a sentence I had spoken at dinner.

It had been a deliberate test after finding a suspicious calendar invitation in Preston’s office.

My genuine board meeting was in the city where we lived, with a secure video link for directors traveling from elsewhere.

Only Elaine, two independent directors, and I knew the real arrangement.

When Ortega told me the tip had been made, I felt no triumph.