THE GOODBYE HE MISSED
"You have some experience with that, Olivia. I would think you might recognize it."
The room was quiet. Outside, somewhere in the neighborhood, a dog was barking at something.
"I've known you for five years," Victor said. "I have watched you carefully for five years, because my grandson was not watching carefully enough and someone needed to." He set his water glass down. "You are not a villain. I want to be clear about that because I think you may have come here half expecting me to say otherwise. You are a frightened woman who found a mechanism that worked and used it long past the point where it was defensible. That is a very human thing to do. It does not make you evil. It makes you some