Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars and a Missing Name on a Ledger

over his arm and smoothing his trousers. He did not look at me again as he walked away toward the courthouse entrance.

“I refused to sign,” he said over his shoulder. “The paper trail is yours now.”

I sat on the bench for a long minute, the white envelope sitting on the warm wood beside me. The street noise of downtown Los Angeles seemed to fade into continue reading …