They spent nearly two hours untangling paperwork. The lender had already prepared foreclosure steps but had not completed them. Once funds cleared and Sarah's cousin signed the necessary transfer, the account could return to current status and the sale process would stop.
Silas signed the chapter reserve check as authorized officer of the club's legal property entity. That detail mattered to him. He wanted nothing hidden, nothing that could later be used to frighten Sarah. The money was real, the source documented, the transaction legal.
When the bank manager stamped the final receipt, Silas stared at the paper longer than necessary.
One piece of fear gone.
It did not feel like enough.
The medical bills took the rest of the morning. Some had errors. One hospital statement duplicated a radiology charge. The oxygen supplier had assessed a late fee twice. Martin's assistant caught both, saving several hundred dollars. Silas found himself strangely furious at the idea that Sarah might have paid even one dollar more than she legitimately owed.
By early afternoon, the balances were settled or placed under formal review.
Bones delivered copies to the bungalow.
Toby opened the door.
The boy looked cleaner than he had the day before, though his oversized jacket was still the same. He had washed his hair and combed it so carefully that a stubborn section near the crown stood straight up anyway.
Bones handed him a grocery sack first.
“What is this?” Toby asked.
“Lunch.”
“I did not ask for lunch.”
“You are ten. Nobody asked your opinion.”
Toby frowned at him.
Bones almost grinned.
Inside were sandwiches, fruit, milk, and a peach pie.
Toby looked at the pie, then at Bones.
“Uncle Silas?”
“His idea.”
Toby smiled before he could stop himself.
Sarah was awake in the living room. Bones handed her the envelope containing receipts, bank documentation, and Martin's written explanation. She opened it with visible dread.
“The foreclosure action is stopped,” Bones said. “Mortgage current. Title process started. Medical bills paid except the two Martin challenged. Oxygen company balance is zero.”
Sarah stared at him.
“That cannot all be done in one morning.”
“Turns out paperwork moves faster when somebody actually sits on the phone and refuses to hang up.”
She looked down at the stamped receipts.
Her shoulders began to shake.
Toby put the grocery sack down and went to her.
Bones stepped toward the door.
“Mr. Harrison,” Sarah said.
He turned.
“Thank you.”
Bones looked uncomfortable in a way no threat had ever made him look.
“Arthur,” he said.
“What?”
“My name. Arthur.”
Sarah nodded. “Thank you, Arthur.”
Bones cleared his throat. “Yeah.”