Then I shut the binder, snapped the brass latches closed, and left the room before the morning staff came in.

At half past ten I climbed the back stairwell to the second-floor hallway outside the break room.

Garrett was standing by the high-end coffee machine, his dark suit coat open and his shoulder propped against the door frame.

Valerie Hayes stood close beside him, holding a slim black tablet between them in both hands.

Her head was bent near his shoulder as she pointed to a narrow column of figures on the glass screen.

When my work boots clicked on the linoleum, Valerie yanked the tablet back with a sharp snap of her wrists.