Hamish said she had no authority to let people die because somebody was hiding the truth either.
She reminded him that breaking into a commercial depot was illegal.
He nodded thoughtfully.
Then we won’t break in, he said.
We’ll ask to inspect it properly.
Imani entered with a freight document and a triumphant expression.
She had discovered that Bluehaven’s insurance policy required an independent mechanical safety inspection before its next scheduled departure.
A station licensed to conduct those inspections was Meridian Exchange.
And the inspector listed on the inspection roster, by a coincidence that made Hamish grin, was Imani Okafor.
Sepha stared at the paperwork.
The approval had been signed three weeks before Vela arrived.
Imani explained that she had taken the contract as part of an ordinary maintenance schedule and had forgotten about it until she saw the depot’s machinery on the screen.
Hamish asked whether the inspection could include someone with expertise in biological cargo.
Imani said the inspector could bring a specialist whenever a refrigeration malfunction threatened living freight.
Sepha asked when the inspection was scheduled.
Tomorrow morning, Imani replied.
Vela, who had been listening from the doorway, said she knew where her mother had hidden the second key.
Everyone turned toward her.
The girl looked embarrassed by the sudden attention.
Her mother had taught her to repair cooling systems, she explained.
Sometimes their technical drawings contained locks that were not locks at all.
The real access points were hidden among components most people never examined.
Vela said Nerin had once shown her a particular arrangement of four pressure gauges and a small red maintenance plate.
If they found that arrangement, they would find whatever her mother had hidden.
Sepha asked why she had not mentioned the key earlier.
Vela looked from one adult to another before answering.
I didn’t know which of you would believe me, she said.
Hamish gently pushed the bowl of fruit on the table closer to her.
He told her that trusting people was sometimes harder than surviving dangerous animals.
Then he promised that nobody would make her go to the depot.
Vela took a piece of fruit and said she wanted to stay with Sepha.
She did not want another person she trusted to disappear behind a locked door.
Sepha agreed that Vela would remain in a secure room at Meridian with two nurses who had volunteered to care for her.
The girl appeared relieved, but her eyes followed the adults as they prepared to leave.
