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“Why? Has she done something to you?”

“She came to my house last night.”

Dennison’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“She showed up at my door. I’d just worked a partial shift at my brother’s bar. We were unusually slow, so he sent me home around nine o’clock. There’s a small apartment in the building, above the bar. I live there. I don’t know how she got my address. After everything that happened with Matt Woodson, I’ve taken great pains to keep my personal information off the internet. I pay one of those companies to do takedowns. If you type my name into a browser, you’re not supposed to be able to find me. Actually, another police officer suggested I do that. He gave me the name of the company I use.”

“I’m familiar,” Dennison said.

“Anyway. Mina. It was just so strange. The bar was still technically open. I went home at an odd time, like I said. And not two minutes after I walked into my apartment, Mina knocked on my door. Like she’d been spying on me. I think she sat outside the bar waiting for me to come out.”

He didn’t respond, but his eyes darkened.

“I was thinking what could be so important she drove all the way to my apartment to find me that late in the day. I thought she was going to tell me somebody had died. Or that there was some break in my case. But she started accusing me of all sorts of crazy stuff.”

“Like?”

“That I was lying. She called me crazy. Then she threatened me.”

“Threatened you? Corrine, can you tell me exactly what she said?”

“She said if I showed up in Lasalle Harbor again, she’d kill me. She accused me of stalking her. It was unhinged. I didn’t even know what to say. I thought maybe she’d been drinking. Her eyes were… she wasn’t… she just seemed really off. Not at all like the professional person I met at your office those few times. Not kind and helpful like you and everyone else has been.”

“What did you do?” Dennison asked.

“I didn’t know what to do. She really scared me. And look, I could have left it at that. There’s no reason for me to be in her backyard anymore anyway. But then, she got physical.”

Dennison straightened in his seat. “What did she do exactly?”

“I really hate to use this word, but she assaulted me.”

His face went white. I picked up my phone.

“I have a camera,” I said. “I was honestly afraid to look. After I had a chance to process what happened, I knew I had to reach out. She’s a friend of yours. And you’ve been so good to me. You really seemed to care about my story. The Kalamazoo cops were pretty dismissive a few years ago when I first went to them. Otherwise, I would have just called them. I thought maybe you’d appreciate my coming to you first.”

I opened my security camera app and pulled up the video I saved from last night. I popped out my phone’s stand and set it between us so we could watch together.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t record sound,” I said. “It’s just a basic unit. I can’t afford to pay for the higher-end ones with the subscription.”

I pressed play. The recording started as Mina walked up to my door and pounded on it. My camera was positioned on the ceiling in one corner. As I opened the door, Mina’s back was to the camera. Her body obstructed most of me.

At first, it was just the two of us talking. Her hand gestures became more exaggerated. At one point, I stepped sideways so you could more clearly see my face. I shook my head. My expression looked painful. Then I stepped back closer to the door. Again, Mina’s body filled the frame.

Then it happened.

Mina raised her arms. She pushed me against the wall. My arm flailed out as I staggered sideways and then backward into the door. A few seconds later, Mina turned and faced the camera. The recording ended with Mina in a freeze-frame, her face contorted with rage.

Dennison grabbed my phone, held it closer to his face, and then played the recording again.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know what to do. I trust you. But I know she’s your colleague. Probably your friend too.”

“No,” he said, handing me back my phone. “It’s good that you reached out. Can you email that to me?”

“I can’t have this,” I said. “I’ve come too far. Worked too hard on myself. After everything that happened with Matt… I was in a really dark place for a long time. I was agoraphobic for a year. And now… well… it took a lot for me to come here today. I hope I haven’t made a mistake.”

“You haven’t,” he said. “I want to help you.”

“She can’t come near me again. I’ve never done anything to her. I didn’t even know who she was until I met her at that first interview you set up. I have to protect myself. I have to protect my mental health.”