Judge Vance asked on what grounds, the lawyer said he’d need to confer, and the judge told him he could confer out in the hall.

“The evidence of forgery and child endangerment is overwhelming,” Judge Vance said again, for the record.

“Order the search carried out immediately.”

The gavel fell, and its echo hung in the wood after he lifted his hand.

By twelve thirty, Officer Marcus Bell had the bolt cutters open in my hallway, and Derek stood six feet back with his hands where Bell had told him to keep them.

The heavy brass padlock hung on the closet door like a knot in the wood, and the hall smelled of dust and old wool.