“He filed the duress affidavit at nine,” Sarah said, setting the heavy can down on a square of cardboard.

“The store’s security video showed all of it.”

I smoothed away a little drip on the trim before it could run down to the floor.

“So the second mortgage paperwork is completely void,” I said.

“It means you don’t owe sixteen thousand dollars to his old company,” Sarah said.

She pushed the roller up the middle of the plaster wall in one long, slow stroke.

The wet latex smelled clean and sharp, covering the old smell of wool and cedar from the back of the closet.