Rowan arrived at the clinic with the blue folder under one arm and a bill folded into her coat pocket.
Kellan had driven her to the hospital office that morning. He waited outside while she collected Garin’s belongings, then took her home. Now she had come without calling first. Leah offered her a chair in the quiet room behind the sewing shop and brought Tessa from the treatment area.
“I read the policy,” Rowan said. “I understand some of it. I don’t understand which deadline applies to which document.”
She placed the policy beside the assignment copy. The funeral bill came out of her pocket last. Its due date was earlier than either of the dates she had marked in the policy.
Tessa called Nora. The advocate could come in an hour. Rowan agreed to wait, but declined tea. She unfolded the bill, smoothed it against the table, and wrote another number beneath it.
“Ivo needs new shoes,” she said. “I keep putting that on the list and taking it off. His old ones still fit if he doesn’t wear thick socks.”
“We can ask the community fund about urgent help,” Tessa said.
“Will they ask about the claim?”
“I don’t know. I can ask what information they need before giving them your name.”
Rowan nodded. Tessa made the call from the other end of the room. The fund could consider a small emergency grant for funeral expenses and children’s necessities; it would need proof of the expense but did not require a family to pursue a particular insurance claim. The amount was limited and not guaranteed.
“Ask them for the form,” Rowan said.
Eli arrived while Tessa was printing it. He had spent the morning arranging the photographs from the warehouse: the posted higher rating, the lower rating in the team’s collection paperwork, and the assignment copy Rowan had allowed him to photograph. He had also written a list of other records he wanted: the inspection report, the notice history, the entry log, and any communications between the company and Garin’s team.
He placed the list on the table. Rowan read it, then drew a line through the last three items.
“I’ll ask for the rating Garin’s team received,” she said. “I don’t want my name and Ivo’s information sent to everyone who handled the warehouse.”
“We can request the records without giving them all of that,” Eli said.
“Who will receive the request?”
“The warehouse office, probably the contractor, maybe the insurer.”
“And who forwards it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then start with the rating.”
He wanted to argue that the other records might disappear while she waited. Instead he folded the list along the line she had drawn and put it away. She had accepted one request; the rest remained questions for Nora.
Nora arrived with a notebook and a copy of the redacted policy page Tessa had sent. Rowan showed her the full policy and asked her not to photograph it yet. Nora read the relevant sections at the table.
“The notice of death is due first,” she said. “The policy gives more time for supporting documents, but the insurer can ask for additional information after the initial notice. I would notify them before that first deadline, even if the full evidence isn’t ready.”
“What do I have to send with the notice?”
“The policy number, Garin’s identification, the date of death, and a contact for the beneficiary. The insurer’s form may ask for more. We can review it before you submit.”
“Does submitting the notice mean I accept the company’s account?”
“Not by itself. Don’t sign a release or a statement you don’t understand. The notice and a settlement are different documents.”
Rowan turned to the assignment copy. “The approval line is blank.”
“It is. The page still lists Garin and the work site. We should find out whether this is the complete copy and what other records establish that he was working.”
“Nessa can say they were assigned,” Eli said.
“She can describe what she received and what she saw,” Nora replied. “She can’t certify who approved a rating unless she knows.”
Rowan wrote notice first on the envelope, then added ask who receives the form. She looked at the funeral bill again.
“If I notify them today, do I get an answer before this is due?”
“I can’t promise that. The community fund may help with the immediate bill while the insurer processes the claim.”
“May,” Rowan repeated.
“Yes. We can call them now and ask how quickly they decide.”
The fund’s coordinator said a completed application could be reviewed the next day. Rowan would need an invoice and a contact number. She asked whether the payment would go to her or directly to the funeral provider. The coordinator said either was possible depending on the application. Rowan chose direct payment for the deposit if approved.
Eli watched her fill out the form. He had expected the insurance claim to be a single path: gather evidence, present it, receive a decision. Rowan was managing several paths at once, each with its own deadline and its own people asking for information. The funeral bill did not wait for a hearing. Ivo’s shoes did not become less necessary because the policy was complicated.
Nora helped her locate the insurer’s notice form online. Rowan read every field before entering anything. When the form asked for a description of the incident, she wrote that Garin had been injured while working at the warehouse and died after rescue. She did not state that the employer had falsified the rating. Nora suggested adding the assignment date and attaching the page that listed his name, with Rowan’s permission.
“Will the employer see this?” Rowan asked.
“The insurer may contact them. The form doesn’t tell us exactly what will be shared. We can ask before sending it.”
The insurer’s phone line had a long wait. Rowan held the phone while a recorded voice repeated the expected delay. Tessa offered to take it; Rowan shook her head.
“I want to hear the answer.”
When a representative finally answered, Rowan asked who would receive the notice and whether medical details about Ivo were required. The representative said the insurer would contact the employer to verify the assignment; Ivo’s medical information was not needed for the initial notice. Rowan wrote down the representative’s name and reference number.
She submitted the notice. The confirmation appeared on the screen with a date and a claim reference. Nora printed it, and Rowan placed the page at the front of the blue folder.
“That is not an approval,” Nora said.
“I know.” Rowan closed the folder. “It’s a start.”
Sera came in from a visit to the warehouse’s public entrance. She had not entered the building. A notice on the barrier said the upper floor remained closed while the incident was assessed. The two hunters who had gone toward the stairs had been found by responders: one was receiving treatment, the other had escaped through a separate service exit. Sera had verified the update with the site officer before bringing it to the clinic.
Nessa had also sent a message. She was willing to describe the assignment materials she received, but her copy had been damaged during the escape. A worker from the other crew, Dax, might have kept the same lower-rating page that had been distributed to both crews.
“Can you ask for the duplicate?” Rowan said.
“I can ask whether they have it and whether they’re willing to share it with you or Nora,” Sera replied. “I won’t give them your address.”
Rowan agreed. She permitted a limited request for the lower rating and the assignment materials, not a broad inquiry into her family’s circumstances.
Kellan called to say he could drive her to the funeral provider the next morning. Rowan thanked him but said her cousin had offered a ride. Kellan did not insist. He asked whether she needed the address or phone number for the provider; she already had both.
After the call, Rowan looked at the pile of papers. “Everyone keeps offering to do things. I know they mean well. I need some of them to stop long enough for me to read.”
“We can leave you the room,” Tessa said.
“I’d like Nora to stay. The rest of you can go.”
Eli stood. He wanted to ask how long she would take, but he knew the question would make his impatience her next task. He left the redacted photograph on the table and went downstairs.
At the clinic, Leah was checking a delivery against the order. One box had a crushed corner. Eli helped her open it and count the packets inside. None had broken, but Leah marked the outer damage on the receiving sheet and asked the driver to initial it.
“Did Rowan file?” she asked.
“She submitted the notice. The claim isn’t decided.”
“And the rating?”
“She authorized a limited request.”
Leah wrote nothing about the family in the clinic ledger. She had asked because she wanted to know whether they needed immediate help, not because the information belonged in the supply account.
Kellan came in while Rowan and Nora were still upstairs. He had taken Theo to the provider after the hospital drive, leaving just enough time for the appointment. Now he laid the collection agreement beside the supply ledger.
“The warehouse hasn’t released our order,” he said. “I called. They won’t give me a new collection date.”
Eli looked at the delivery payment still marked in the budget. “You worked all afternoon.”
“On a rescue. The preparation fee is mine. This part was for bringing the supplies here.” He touched the second figure. “I need to know whether I should keep tomorrow clear for another trip.”
Leah checked the available balance. The delivery that morning had come from another supplier; it hadn’t replaced the goods behind the warehouse barrier. Paying Kellan the remaining fee now would leave them short when those boxes were finally released.
“I could cover it,” Eli said, before looking in his wallet.
Kellan waited. Eli counted enough for food and the next tram journey, then stopped.
“No,” he said. “I can’t.”
“Then don’t promise it.” Kellan took out his phone. “I’ll accept the construction shift tomorrow. Call me when there’s an actual collection date. We can agree on another trip then.”
“What about Theo?”
“I’ll ask the provider to defer part of the balance. That’s a request, not money I have.”
He went outside to make the call. Eli crossed out the expected collection date and left the unpaid delivery amount in the budget. The money was still there; the work and the treatment it was supposed to make possible had slipped beyond its reach. He moved a chair away from the upstairs door so Rowan could leave without passing a crowd, then stayed at the desk until Leah returned.
Sera returned near closing with a sealed envelope from the surviving hunter who had kept a duplicate. The hunter had agreed that Rowan and Nora could examine it, but had not authorized a public copy. Sera placed the envelope in front of Rowan upstairs.
Rowan invited Eli back to examine the rating page with her and Nora. The page inside showed the lower threat rating and the team’s assignment date. The approval line was blank, just as it was on Garin’s copy.
“Is this enough?” Rowan asked.
Nora examined the edges. “It may show what the team received. The missing signature means we need another way to establish how it was issued and whether this is complete.”
Eli looked at the empty line. He wanted it to be proof that someone had bypassed the approval process. It could also be a copy made before the signature was added, or a page separated from another record. The absence narrowed the question; it did not answer it.
Rowan put the duplicate beside Garin’s copy. “I’ll speak to Nora privately about the next request.”
Sera nodded. “The hunter said you can keep that copy for the claim. He wants to be contacted before anyone publishes it.”
“I won’t publish it.”
Rowan closed the envelope. Tessa offered to hold the room open as long as she needed. The clinic’s last patient had left, and Mrs. Ortega had finished upstairs. No one would ask her to clear the table for another appointment.
Eli went outside with Sera. The evening air was cool, and the repaired clinic refrigerator hummed through the open window. Sera looked across the street, checking the tram shelter out of habit.
“The duplicate came from Dax, the other crew worker who went down the stairs,” she said. “He kept it in a waterproof pocket. He thought his supervisor might ask for it.”
“Did he know the posted rating was higher?”
“He says he didn’t see it before entry. He also says he arrived after the others, so he can’t tell us what they were shown earlier.”
Eli wrote that down. Sera watched him, then pointed to the time on his note.
“He told me at four twenty, not four. If the time matters, use the actual one.”
He corrected it. She had found a document and a witness without pretending either could answer more than it did. The next step would be smaller than Eli had hoped: understand the blank approval line, preserve the deadline, and let Rowan choose which request came next.