She lined up the top edge of her yellow pad with the front edge of her blotter before she looked up.

“Have a seat, Leah,” Captain Morales said, glancing at the digital clock on her computer screen.

I sat down in the straight-backed metal chair and laid the waterproof blue folder flat on the desk between us.

“My mother used a forged power of attorney to pull forty-five thousand dollars out of my savings while I was in Kuwait,” I said.

Captain Morales picked up her black pen and drew a single straight horizontal line across the margin of her yellow pad.