Collins even put a handwritten note in her permanent intake file back in October saying her father was told directly, in person.”

“Did the doctor talk to him?”

“He wrote down that your husband turned down the immediate specialist referral before leaving,” she said.

“If his voicemail was working, he got three follow-up calls after that.”

She turned toward the kitchen doors before I could ask her anything else.

I left two dollar bills on the counter and walked out to the parking lot without drinking the coffee.

I drove my silver Honda Civic back to Elm Street to pick up Grace’s clean clothes, her toothbrush, and her sketchbooks from her bedroom closet.