“Can we meet somewhere private?” she pleaded after a long pause.

I should have said no, but curiosity ultimately won. “When do you want to meet?”

“Today, if possible,” she whispered.

“What for?” I asked.

“I need to ask you something important,” she said.

An hour later, I walked into a quiet coffee shop near Meridian Hills, and Melinda was already sitting in a corner booth, looking completely exhausted. It was an emotional exhaustion that’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen it as a physician. She looked like someone carrying a burden she couldn’t put down.