Page 28 of The Note

She smiled politely and nodded. “Oh great, he googled me. Total shitshow, right?”

“Yeah, that. I almost reached out when that allwent down, but, you know …” She knew, all right. “To be honest, my guess is he felt a little hinky about you, so called the DA’s Office to check you out. I didn’t have your cell number so offered to track you down myself, and he took me up on it. Figured Clark and I could make a house call.”

“Makes sense,” she said. “Well, it’s good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too. Can I get phone numbers for those friends of yours too? I get the impression this Decker cat’s got absolutely nothing. Trying to find anyone who might have noticed the smallest thing. That’s how cases break sometimes, right?”

She tried to think of any excuse not to provide their contact information, but came up empty. “Of course.” While she pulled up the contacts on her phone, he handed her back the slip of paper containing her own number and she added Lauren’s and Kelsey’s information.

“I forgot how perfect your handwriting is. So which one’s the wino?”

She laughed. “My guess is the waitress was talking about Kelsey.”

“I’ll pass this on to the folks on the East End.” He folded the sheet of paper and tucked it into his pocket with the photographs of David Smith. One slip of paper. A simple little note—but the potential for so much damage.

“I don’t even think they noticed the couple Iwas thinking of,” she said, leading the way to the apartment door. “I eavesdrop more than the average bear.”

“I can only imagine. But maybe they’ll have noticed something that you missed.”

“It’s possible.” She hoped her voice didn’t betray the simmering anxiety that was about to boil over.

In the hallway, Danny paused and turned around. His voice was low as he sought out May’s gaze. “And hey, Hanover? That video. I know you. I can see what happened, but I also know you probably still beat yourself up over it.”

She looked down at the floor. “That’s notnotcorrect.”

“You’re good people, lady. Don’t forget it.”

“Yeah, thanks,” this time returning his gaze.

“And your op-ed? I read it. It was smart. And badass. Like you.”

17

@NYTOPINION—JUNE 19

GUEST OPINION Who Will March For Us? After experiencing a racially motivated assault, former New York County prosecutor May Hanover wonders where are the allies for Asian Americans after the recent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.

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@NYTOPINION—JUNE 19

“Three months ago, a man tried to attack me on a subway platform. ‘Go back where you came from, Chink bitch.’ I imagined falling to the tracks. I could have died, another tragic story for the front pageof thePost.I found myself thinking, but wait, I’m from Indiana.

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@NYTOPINION—JUNE 19

“Hate crimes against Asian Americans have surged and no one seems to care. In 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes in 16 of the country’s largest cities increased almost 150% over the previous year, even as the overall number of hate crimes reported to police declined.

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@NYTOPINION—JUNE 19

“Scores of Asian American elders have been senselessly assaulted by random strangers on the street. These are painful statistics and stories—especially when it feels like no one cares.

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@NYTOPINION—JUNE 19

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