(Brad)
The afternoon was already moving faster than I wanted it to. Jade needed groceries, Gerald needed documents, and somewhere underneath all of it the case kept tightening in ways I was running out of room to manage.
I got into the car and sat for a second before starting the engine.
Gerald's last words stayed with me. Don't take longer than you need to. Like I needed reminding to stay on task. Like the last several hours hadn't already been one long exercise in managing things I hadn't asked for.
I started the car and pulled out into traffic.
The store wasn't far. I'd get in and out quickly, drop everything at Jade's place, then go home and pull together whatever financial records I could find before Gerald ran out of patience entirely. Simple enough in theory.
I turned into the
