Ada had not cut the seal.
The property packet lay on her table beside the blue copy of the complaint. It was too flat to contain a bag, but Tomas kept lifting one edge as if weight might gather at the other end if he tried again.
“They said property return,” he told Tessa.
“I saw the notification,” she said. “Let’s look at what they actually sent.”
Ada placed the unopened packet where everyone could see its label. Nora recorded the reference and the condition of the seal before Ada opened it herself. The request had come from the family; it was their table, their packet and their decision about who stood around it.
Inside lay a smaller property envelope and a printed inventory.
Ada lifted the smaller envelope, felt it, then looked at Tomas.
He held it open while she tipped it over the table.
