She logged the property with the same meticulous handwriting she used for names, then slid the pack into the evidence drawer reserved for unclaimed valuables. It felt heavier than its size justified.
Mara felt the room split into two clear halves: the legal one and the human one. She had been trained to stand in the center and let the law flow past without getting bruised. But sometimes a person’s duplicity or bluntness demanded the small courage of a clerk refusing a form with a frown.
"Do you have a written authorization from Noah?" Mara asked Mr. Ames.
"Noah wouldn't want it to go away."