My conversation with the doctor is interrupted when someone knocks on the door to my hospital room. He doesn’t wait for either of us to answer before he enters. He’s a police officer. Older than Barnes, and in a fancier uniform.

The man introduces himself as the St. Louis Chief of Police.

The discussion over whether I’m going to leave gets put on hold. The chief asks the doctor to leave the room, and he, reluctantly, does. The chief takes a seat in the ...