"Whoever did this needed to move freely between both halves."
Valerica laid the evidence across Maren's table the following morning.
Rurik was there too, this time by invitation rather than coincidence.
Valerica tapped the forged letter.
"They needed weeks to practice a convincing copy of Corl's handwriting. They needed access to the storage shed. They needed enough familiarity with both sides that their movements wouldn't immediately raise questions."
She looked between Maren and Rurik.
"That leaves a very small pool."
"Almost nobody crosses freely," Rurik said.
He glanced toward the barricade.
"That's the whole problem we've been living inside."
"Almost nobody," Isole corrected. "Not nobody."
Maren's jaw tightened.
Vane watched her work through the possibilities in silence. The names were clearly coming to her faster than she wanted them to.
"The traders," she said.
Her tone had become clinical.
