Clara waited for it to return, but the screen stayed still.

She closed the report and carried it upstairs.

At 8:35, the blue folder lay beside Clara’s bed while she stood near the dresser with a fresh sheet of paper.

Lauren stayed in the doorway.

Clara read the first paragraph from memory.

“I wrote that Scout is a Belgian Malinois and that he works with Ben.”

Lauren nodded.

“That part is correct.”