LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER, Lynch pulled up to the small medical building that housed Kendra's office.  He turned to Kendra.  "Can I come inside?"

"The observation booth will already be packed with parents.  You don't have to stick around.  I'll catch a Lyft back home."

"No.  Call me instead.  I'll be down the street, drinking coffee and catching up on emails.  And while I'm at it, I'll check my sources and see if I can find any connections between Elena Meyer and Elizabeth Gelson."

"Sounds good.  Thanks."

Kendra climbed out of the car and hurried into the building, where she knew some of her clients would already be waiting.  Sure enough, Serena Davis, Tim Shales, and Haley Sims, aged nine, eleven, and seven, respectively, were waiting outside her office with their mothers.

"Ready to make some music?" Kendra said.

Only Haley responded with a weak "Yeah."  As usual, none of the children made eye contact with her.  They were autistic, and they were there precisely because of their difficulty connecting with others.  Kendra welcomed them into her studio, a large carpeted room with a piano, a drum kit, and several other musical instruments on stands.  The children went straight to their preferred instruments - the drums for Serena, a guitar for Tim, and an electronic keyboard for Haley.

Kendra made small talk with the mothers while two more children, David Gray and Vicki Misner, arrived with their parents.  David picked up a bass guitar and Vicki grabbed a cowbell.  Kendra nodded to the parents and they adjourned to a small observation room with a one-way glass window.

"Have you been practicing?" Kendra asked the children.

"No," Haley said listlessly.  The others didn't respond.

Kendra smiled.  "Points for honesty.  Okay, this is all about learning to play in a band."
Vicki started striking the cowbell.

"Not yet, Vicki.  Vicki?"

Vicki stopped.

"Okay," Kendra said.  "There's more to being in a band than just playing your parts.  You must also pay attention to what everyone else is doing.  That's the most important thing.  Does anyone remember why you must pay attention to each other?["]

"So we can stay together and keep the sound balanced," Tim said.

Kendra knew Tim would be the one to answer, just as she knew he would answer with a word-for-word recitation of what she'd told them at their last session.