The freezer hated named witnesses.
Ty could tell by the way the cold pulled back.
It had been crawling around their ankles, slow enough to pretend it was only weather. After Jade's answer reached the consent field, the cold slid backward under the drawers and vanished through the seams.
Every drawer clicked shut.
Except B-3.
The folder on the empty tray shook like it wanted to swallow the page that had betrayed it. At the bottom, the badge number M-17 glowed in dull ink.
JJ read the update from her panel, one hand tight around the edge. "Jade says the signature was copied from a property release."
The hospital voice came from overhead, stripped of Zunoder's warmth. It sounded like an answering machine left awake after midnight. "Copied is not a recognized legal category here."
Heissman looked up at the vent. "There you are, administrative audio with delusions of law."
"Commentary has no evidentiary value in removal scope."
