At two o’clock I was standing in the inner reference room at Dalton’s civilian law firm.

Captain Morales stood on my right in her dark green military uniform.

Dalton stood on my left, his gray suit jacket unbuttoned and his tie pulled loose.

A huge oak table filled the middle of the windowless room.

Dalton had told his paralegal to pull every last public record tied to 412 Maple Street from the county archives.

Piles of thick printed paper covered the polished tabletop from one edge to the other.

Property tax receipts, zoning permits, and utility transfer notices covering ten years lay sorted into tidy stacks.