I didn’t call her back.

I sent the recording to Marcus and asked him whether it mattered.

He said the statement might help explain what representations Daniel had made, but we shouldn’t assume Sloan was being entirely truthful either.

A few days later, Sloan requested a conversation with Nina, whom she’d located through a mutual acquaintance.

Nina declined to conduct an interview and told her she was helping me as a friend, not reporting a story.

Sloan still sent an email.