Renee didn’t look up from her phone, but her manicured index fingernail started its steady tapping on her water glass.

“The car registration is good through next spring,” I said.

“I went down to the state office in June.”

“The state system changed its requirements for older vehicles last month,” Daniel said, his voice slipping into the quick clip he used when showing seven-hundred-thousand-dollar tract homes to buyers from out of state.

“If the title isn’t verified in the central record, the insurance rider lapses.”

“I can drive it over to the branch office on Shea Boulevard tomorrow morning,” I said.