“I had access to a car,” I said. “I didn’t have access to a decision.”

She let that pass without comment, which I’ve since learned is what a lawyer does when you’ve said something she’d rather the record moved past quickly.

Then, in the fourth hour, she opened the manila folder.

“Mrs. Holloway, I’d like to ask you about a conversation between you and your husband in the days after his return. Did there come a time when Gavin Holloway told you he was ashamed of your appearance?”

The room got very quiet. Ellis said, “Objection to form,” in a bored voice, and then, “You can answer.”

I want to describe the specific feeling, because I think there are people who need to know that it exists.