I did not approach them.

I did not ask who Liam was.

My hand shook so much that the first recording caught only the sound of my sleeve scraping against the railing.

The second captured Kenneth’s voice, clear and unhurried, talking about a lender and an appraisal.

It captured Gertrude saying my name, and Brenda asking whether the promised apartment would have a second bedroom for Liam.

When their call ended, I returned upstairs and lay in the bed I had begged my husband to share.