The family had moved the chairs before Eli arrived.
There was no head of the table. The intermediary sat near the door, leaving the nearest chair empty so anyone could go without asking others to stand. The windows faced a wall rather than the street. Eli noticed the precautions one by one and understood that a private meeting could still feel exposed to the people inside it.
Two relatives had come. The older woman kept her hands in her lap. The younger had a folded copy of the accusation, worn soft along the edges. Neither offered Eli a hand.
He sat where the intermediary indicated. Tessa put the cases down and waited for permission before opening them. Sera remained beside the document packet. There was no recorder. The family could ask for notes, but nobody would make a private account of their expressions and carry it away as evidence of gratitude.
“Were you there?” the younger relative asked.
“When Arden died, yes,” Eli said.
“On the expedition.”
“No.”
