Clara reached out, gathered up her three yellow highlighters, and tucked them neatly into her desk drawer.

“The office is closed,” Clara said politely.

Daniel and I walked back out to the High Street parking lot under the yellow glow of the streetlights.

“I’ll file an initial notice of appearance in the morning,” Daniel said, holding his driver’s door open.

“What’s our deadline?” I asked.

“The hearing for Case 4238B is set for December fourteenth at nine in the morning in Portsmouth Family Court,” Daniel said.

“That gives us less than three weeks.”