Gurney had driven into a cell dead zone. The connection was broken. He decided to wait for her to call him back. He stood the phone upright in one of the drink holders in the console. Less than a minute later, it rang.

“The last thing I heard you say,” he began, “was that I’d better pay attention to something.”

“Hello?”

“I’m here. We were in a dead spot.”

“I’m sorry—what did you say?” It was a female voice, but not Madeleine’s.

“Oh, sorry, I thought it was someone else.”

“Dave? This is Kim. Are you in the middle of something?”

“That’s all right. By the way, sorry I didn’t get back to you. What’s happening?”

“You got my message? That RAM is going ahead with the first installment?”

“Something like that. ‘Project is a total go,’ I think is what you said.”

“The first show will air this Sunday. I had no idea it would happen so fast. They’re using the rough demo material I shot with Ruth Blum, just like Rudy Getz said. And they want me to proceed with as many more interviews as we can do with the other families. The series will run on consecutive Sundays.”

“So things are moving ahead the way you were hoping?”

“Definitely.”

“But?”

“Oh, I don’t have any reservations about that. That’s all great.”

“But?”

“But … I have a … a silly little problem here.”

“Yes?”

“The lights. They’re out again.”

“The lights in your apartment?”

“Yes. I told you about the time all the bulbs were loosened?”

“That’s been done again?”

“No. I checked the lamp in the living room, and the bulb is tight. So I guess it must be the circuit breaker. But there’s no way I’m going down in the basement to check it.”

“Have you called anybody?”

“They don’t consider this an emergency.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“The police. They might be able to ask somebody to drop by later. But I shouldn’t count on it. Circuit breakers are not a police matter, they said. I should call the landlord, or a maintenance person, or an electrician, or a friendly neighbor, or, apparently, anybody but them.”

“Did you?”

“Call my landlord? Sure. Got his voice mail. God only knows if or when he checks it. Maintenance guy? Sure. But he’s down in Cortland working at another building owned by the same guy. Says it’s ridiculous for him to drive clear up to Syracuse to flip a circuit breaker. No way he’s going to do that. The electrician I called wants a hundred-fifty-dollar minimum to come to the house. And I don’t have any friendly neighbors.” She paused. “So that’s … my silly little problem. Any advice?”

“Are you in your apartment now?”