But I did not look away from it either.

Chapter 20 — It Becomes Real

The doorbell rang.

Through the glass I could see them through the glass: two paramedics with their bags, and behind them two Chicago police officers, exactly the help I had called for.

I went to the door and opened it wide.

Behind me, Vanessa made her last appeal, and it was, revealingly, not an appeal to innocence but to image.

“David,” she said quickly, low, “think about what you’re doing.