Fatigue hit me in a wave as I parked in front of Scott’s house. When I’d returned to the office from lunch, Lottie informed me someone had been looking for me—but she couldn’t remember who. I wasn’t sure I believed her. She’d never warmed up to me. I couldn’t figure out if the animosity came from my ethnicity, my gender, or just a clash of personalities.
Mr. Winters accosted me, demanding to know why I hadn’t visited the Riviera family yet. I’d always planned to see them in the afternoon—and I explained as much.
The man was unmoved.
I’d quickly written up my morning interview—that’d ended mere moments before Scott’s frantic message—and headed out to see the middle-class family who lived in a nice house on a nice street. All had appeared well except Mrs. Riviera had suffered crippling po
