The reply arrived while Lyra was trying to peel an orange without spraying juice onto the protection file.
She put the orange down.
The inspecting officer checked the messenger’s receipt, the tribunal seal and the two-page enclosure. He read the first page twice. Lyra watched the small movement of his eyes back toward the reference.
“It’s a real number,” he said.
Her stomach tightened.
“A request for a hearing. Withdrawn before proceedings began.” He turned the page toward her. “No conviction entered under it. They searched the named person and the adjoining register as well.”
The orange rolled into her knee. She caught it before it fell and set it carefully beside the lamp.
Outside the examination room, Torsten was arguing about the cost of a second escort shift. The officer called him in.
