“For making him answer questions.”

She stopped before I answered.

“No.

That’s what I would’ve said before.”

She saved the message and contacted the county worker instead of replying.

It was a small action, easily described in a sentence.

For her it involved choosing a new person to call, admitting how little cash she had, and accepting that the old arrangement could not remain the solution to every problem.

Later, a locksmith estimate appeared among papers she had received.