Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars and a Missing Name on a Ledger

decline letter into the mailbox, watching it slip out of sight.

The next morning at ten o’clock, Dr. Raymond Ellis and I sat in the downtown office of the District Attorney. The room smelled of old carpet and the faint, chemical scent of dry cleaning.

Nathan Hochman, the District Attorney, sat behind his wide walnut desk. He did not continue reading …