Mateo kept the bridge reports in a biscuit tin beneath his kitchen table.
Leda found them after opening three drawers and a cupboard full of folded shopping bags. She set the tin on the table and lifted the lid. Inside were notebooks, carbon copies, a packet of photographs, and a small screwdriver wrapped in a handkerchief.
“He could never find that when he needed it,” she said.
Tessa waited beside the sink. Leda had invited her in, but she had asked Anwar to stay downstairs while she separated the work papers from her brother’s letters. He was in the lobby with a cup of coffee and the dates he had written down after the meeting.
Leda opened the first notebook. The early pages contained measurements and short descriptions of repairs. Several were crossed out and copied more neatly onto forms tucked between the covers. Near the back, Mateo had written about movement at a support after heavy traffic.
“That’s the joint Anwar mentioned,” she said.
Tessa leaned over only when Leda turned the page toward her. The entry had a date, a location, and a recommendation for further inspection. Another page recorded that the repair crew had patched the visible surface while waiting for access to the foundation.
