“I’ve already spoken to one of you kids earlier this evening,” Mildred responded when she heard Vernicia’s voice and realized that she was a teenager. “What is the emergency?” Mildred asked.

Vernicia was only too relieved that Mildred’s campaign manager had agreed to put the call through. She was not going to waste a minute.

“We hope that you know the phone number of a certain businesswoman?” Vernicia replied. “There’s something important that she needs to ...