Alaric
Bear laid it out for me the next morning with the same careful, methodical precision he brought to everything — Reid's claims, point by point, more specific than I'd hoped and less specific than I'd feared.
"He says the birth records don't match county files. Says the intake signature looks different from an old permission slip he remembers seeing. Says patrol reassignments and bunk changes all cluster suspiciously around the same few weeks." Bear watched me steadily, giving nothing away about what he personally believed. "On their own, none of it's conclusive. Together, it paints a picture he seems awfully convinced of."
*[Careful,]* Rook said, low. *[Whatever you say next, make it count.]*
"Clerical error," I said, keeping my voice level. "County records get mismatched more of
