Chapter 4

The fluorescent bulbs in the downtown office hummed with a low, sterile vibration.

On the dark mahogany desk lay the thick emergency petition filed by Arthur Cole.

Attached to the front was the incident report from the commercial ferry terminal, stamped with my badge number and marked: Unlawful Industrial Trespassing.

"Lena, this looks disastrous on paper," Carla said. She did not offer me a seat, and she did not pour coffee.

"A mother in a contested divorce, living in a transient canal walk-up, detained by dock security at midnight while her child was left across town."

I sat with my…