“Is the clerk’s certification stamp intact on the back page?”

“Every page is stamped, numbered, and cross-referenced with the county tax index,” Clara said.

She turned her sharp gray eyes to me.

“Your father came to my counter forty minutes ago asking for a duplicate land access form.”

“What did you tell him, Clara?” I asked.

“I told him the ledger was in the clerk’s vault and the key was with the circuit court until Monday morning,” Clara said.

She lined up her gloved fingers along the seam of her coat.