“They’re all forgiven,” said Stella. “I got each of them back years ago, and they’ve got the psychological scars to prove it. But the reason I’m calling is that I thought about the picture you showed me, and I managed to place him and remember the name. It’s Panko. The man whose picture you showed me was Viktor. To tell you the truth, the reason I called tonight is that I want to warn you, even if it’s out of place. Viktor is not a nice man, and his family isn’t any better. If this is a romantic kind of thing, I would get as far away as—”

“It’s not,” said Leah. “I appreciate your willingness to give this to me straight. Can I ask how you met them?”

“I didn’t call to talk about me. It was a long time ago.”

“Please, if you could just tell me what you can, it might matter a lot.”

“I used to be a cop,” Stella said.

Leah clamped down her nerves and made her voice sound as though she were smiling. “Let me come clean. I’m a cop too. I need to meet with you in person. Would it be all right if I drove to your house for a brief talk? I promise the second you tell me it’s time to leave I will. You won’t have to hint. I’m not tender.”

“Interesting,” Stella said. “You’ve got me curious. Let me give you my address.” She recited the address as Leah typed it into her phone.

Leah said, “Can I come now?”

“What the hell is keeping you? I expected to hear a car starting by now.”

Leah was already walking toward the dresser in her hotel room where she had set her purse. She said, “The map on my phone says I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Leah took the elevator to ground level, went across the street to the hotel’s parking structure, and took her car. She followed the phone app’s instructions until she found herself on Fillmore Avenue near the Broadway Market. She looked at the location of Stella’s house on her phone’s map and decided to park and walk the last block to the house.

She trotted across the street and then walked, looking around her at the area. The houses were all two stories and narrow, with roofed front porches. They were built so close together that Leah wondered how cars could fit up their driveways and into the old one-car garages.

When she found the right house, Leah climbed the front porch and rang the bell. Through the glass in the door she could see Stella walking toward her to open it. Stella walked with a slight limp, which Leah diagnosed as an old injury in her right knee. It was possible that it had been bad enough to end her career.