Detective Ruiz

Ruiz brought them to her sister's dental office because it had cameras, alarms, and a waiting room full of smiling plastic teeth no one could take seriously.

Lila arrived through the back door in a borrowed hoodie. She saw the folder and tried to leave.

Nora blocked her.

"No more warnings."

"You don't understand what this does."

"Then explain it."

Lila looked at Brooke, then Ruiz, then the framed poster about flossing. The ridiculousness of the room seemed to exhaust her more than danger.

"Miles was supposed to be dead in the system," she said. "That gave him access. Old credentials, old claim trails. He could move inside the record as a ghost because no one expected a dead employee to log in."

Brooke stiffened. "Harbor Union employee credentials?"

"Legacy contractor. SIU consultant. I don't know the titles."

"Who gave him access?"

"Kells."

The name hit Brooke in the chest. She did not show it, but Nora saw something close behind her eyes.

"Martin Kells?"

"He and Miles were close before the first death."

Brooke stepped away, phone in hand, then stopped. Calling Kells now would be either loyalty or confession. She did not know which.

Ruiz took the folder. "What did Miles find?"

"That the assignments were not just fraud. Some patients died within forty-eight hours of signing revised care directives. Enough to look like mercy. Too many to be mercy."

Nora thought of Daniel's pain medication review. She thought of Tessa filming because a camera was the only weapon she could afford.

"Did Judith kill them?"

Lila shook her head. "Judith did not have to touch anyone. She built a room where other people understood what she wanted."

Brooke's phone buzzed.

Internal Harbor Union alert: SIU access violation under Brooke Chen's credentials, Kind Harbor external site, immediate compliance interview required.

Then Nora's phone buzzed too.

A text from Judith: You keep choosing strangers over family. I will remember that at the custody hearing.