I wanted to know why.
I wanted to know how long.
And I wanted to know what he meant when he said the entire arrangement would fall apart if I collapsed before Friday.
Helen insisted I stay with her.
I agreed to spend one night away, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Daniel’s secret was bigger than the tea.
I had spent thirty-seven years teaching children to pay attention to details. I knew how to notice when a story didn’t make sense.
So I began with the things I already knew.
Daniel’s company had been experiencing financial trouble.
I had discovered that accidentally a month earlier, when a letter from a bank arrived at our house addressed to him. I hadn’t opened it, but I recognized the words overdue facility and urgent review on the envelope.
When I asked him about it, he dismissed it as a routine business matter.
