“Who manages the financial database at Oak Street Dental?” Arthur asked.

“I do,” I said.

“I have full administrator rights and my own login for every billing entry made over the last three years.”

“Then your clinic comes first,” Arthur said, writing quickly across the top line of the pad.

“We clear your professional name before noon, and then we deal with the bank.”

I left Arthur Bennett’s office at eleven fifteen and drove straight across town to Oak Street Dental through the damp late-morning traffic.

The clinic’s records room was tucked behind the second front desk, lined with gray metal filing cabinets and warm computer monitors.