Tessa came back from the ward without a witness statement.
Eli saw the commissioner notice the empty place in her case before he greeted her. He had requested an update on the possible survivor because the inquiry needed corroboration of a transport route. The route mattered. People responsible for the restrictions might still be using gaps in the old records to avoid questions. None of that had made the woman agree to speak publicly.
“She has declined public testimony,” Tessa said.
The commissioner put his pen down.
“For now?”
“She hasn’t consented to it. Don’t turn that into a date she hasn’t chosen.”
Bram stood beside the window, looking out at the yard. Eli had heard him explain the value of the possible account that morning: a place of departure, a transfer under another name, a person who might know who ordered a closed route. Now the answer had come, and he was not trying to argue it away.
The commissioner asked whether the patient understood that her evidence could help others still missing.
