When I joined WW, Katherine worked strictly as a freelancer. But she felt a sense of ownership of the paper and made herself part of everything we did. At 40, she was the oldest among us, even older than the paper's editor and publisher. In news meetings—as elsewhere—she had no patience for bullshit, turned her back at insincerity and relished her natural antipathy toward authority, especially at WW itself. She was the only person I ever saw intimidate editor Mark Zusman—no small feat. Still, she appreciated the opportunity the newspaper had given her. In Geek Love, she introduces a police detective who investigates a murder. "Don't tell anyone," she said to me not long before the book appeared, "but I've named the cop 'M. L. Zusman.'" She meant it as an honor.