"Stop."
Elena waited.
Jessica's hands began shaking.
"They know where my sisters go to school."
Marcus heard that.
He was beside the table immediately.
Jessica recoiled.
Marcus stopped several feet away.
"Who?"
"Anthony."
"Your boss?"
She nodded.
"When?"
"Four months ago."
"What happened?"
Jessica looked around.
"Can we go somewhere private?"
"No," Marcus said.
She looked confused.
"This place has cameras, witnesses and sixty people."
He pointed discreetly toward the street.
"Detective Patel has a unit two blocks away."
Jessica's eyes widened.
"You brought police?"
"Not inside."
"I told you I won't talk to police."
"Then don't."
Marcus sat.
"But you're safer here than in an empty room."
Jessica studied him.
"You actually thought about that."
"Sometimes."
She took a slow breath.
Then began.
"I've typed things I wish I'd never read."
Nobody interrupted.
"Payments."
"What kind?"
"Consulting fees."
"To who?"
"City officials. Inspectors. Police officers. Lawyers. Private contractors."
Marcus stayed still.
"Bribes?"
"Some."
"Others?"
Jessica swallowed.
"Problems."
Elena asked gently, "What does that mean?"
Jessica looked at her.
"That's what they call people."
A long silence.
"Problems."
She continued.
"If a tenant organizer won't back down, they're a problem. If an inspector won't approve something, he's a problem. If a worker threatens to report a safety issue, problem."
Marcus thought about Ramon.
"How are problems handled?"
"Sometimes money."
"And if money doesn't work?"
Jessica's eyes filled.
"Pressure."
"What kind?"
"Eviction. Job loss. Arrests. Anonymous complaints."
"And after that?"
She looked at Ramon Ortiz's photo.
"Sometimes accidents."
Marcus's voice dropped.
"Do you know that, or are you guessing?"
"I know."
Elena leaned forward.
"How?"
Jessica looked at Marcus.
"Because I scheduled the meetings."
The sentence hung between them.
She continued.
"Ramon Ortiz."
Her voice shook.
"Charles was furious. Ramon had photographed crane defects and was talking about OSHA. Anthony met with a man named Victor Mendoza."
"The crane operator."
Jessica stared.
"You know?"
"We know he disappeared."
"He didn't disappear voluntarily."
Marcus felt his pulse change.
"What happened?"
"I don't know everything."
"Tell us what you know."
"Victor was paid fifty thousand dollars."
"For what?"
Jessica whispered, "To make a mistake."
Elena closed her eyes.
Jessica began crying.
"I processed the transfer."
"From Harmon?"
"Shell company."
"Do you have records?"
"Yes."
Marcus forced himself not to react.
"What happened to Victor?"
"I don't know."
"Nothing?"
"Anthony said his father had cleaned up loose ends."
Marcus leaned back.
Jessica continued.
"Then David Chen died."