“Take a peppermint.

The radiator dries the air out.”

He slid the roll across the blotter.

I set one of the red candies down beside my keys.

“Did you pull the county files?” I asked.

“Can we stop her before she leaves the state?”

Arthur took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with a white cloth napkin, his thumb polishing the bridge.

“State,” Arthur repeated quietly.