The hand that refused the fire belonged to Irik Vann. She appeared inside Middle Gate's unresolved work room with soot over her mouth and the turning knot's clay dust on both sleeves. The room camera found her behind the old tally bell after Tarr Meki cut its recorded pull cord.
Irik put the bell hammer on the floor and kept both hands where the camera could see them.
"I wrote the note, sent the cup, and helped cut North."
Three statements from one hidden body received one current test.
Tarr asked her to show the room's folded stair. Irik turned the camera toward a stone edge pressed through the third step. Five people answered behind her, matching the uncounted taps from the earlier slit, while three current bodies remained visible beside them. The work room now held eight verified current people.
Irik crossed in front of the camera, removed a square drain key from her boot, and opened a floor lip Tarr had not named. She kept the key and the opening inside Tarr's view.
