Then I called a handyman about the closet light and the loose porch board.

No grand speech.

No final act of revenge.

A repair appointment, a clean hallway, and enough room to breathe.

PART 23

A Name on the Door

By summer I had converted the old study into a proper editing office.

There was a desk by the window, shelves for reference books, and a small rug where Parker sometimes read while I finished a project.