The Judge Asked Felix To Find His Name On The Title

Felix greeted me outside the courtroom as if we had arrived for a sales meeting.

"We can still fix this," he said.

His lawyer touched his elbow. Mara guided me toward the other bench.

I sat with my folder on my knees. Nadine sat beside her lawyer across the aisle. She had brought no pictures, only a small book of job numbers.

When our case was called, my mouth went dry.

The judge had read the papers. She asked about the bus first because Felix wanted an order giving him its keys.

His lawyer spoke about equal shares, shared costs, and the way clients knew the business.

"Mr. Trent helped build its value," he said.

Mara stood.

"The issue today is whether that gave him possession of this vehicle. The signed agreement answers that."

She gave the exhibit number.

There was a pause while pages turned.

I had worked in rooms where a stray light could ruin an hour's labor. I knew how to hold still. I had never been more glad of it.

With the judge's permission, Felix and I answered questions under oath. It was a narrow hearing about the temporary orders, not the full trial.

Felix said the bus had always been part of our offer to clients.

The judge asked whether he disputed his signature on Schedule A.

"No. But we grew beyond that."

"Was there a later signed agreement transferring ownership?"

"We talked about it."

"I'm asking about a document."

"No."

She looked at the title copy.

"Show me where your name appears on this title, Mr. Trent."

He looked down.

"It doesn't."

Mara asked about his sworn claim that he had helped buy the bus.

"I bought supplies," he said. "I paid for fuel."

"Any payment toward the $18,400 purchase?"

"Not directly."

"Any payment toward the conversion bills attached here?"

"My work brought in money."

The judge asked him to answer the question.

"No."

I did not look at him then. I looked at the folder edge under my thumb.

Mara showed the access clause and the missing reports. Felix agreed he had received both notices. He said he believed the reports could wait until after the festival.

"Where did the agreement give you that choice?" the judge asked.

His lawyer answered that they had no further document on that point.

The judge asked me whether I had kept Felix from seeing company records after recovering the bus.

"No," I said. "I sent copies through our lawyers. His personal things were boxed for collection. He signed for them at the yard office."

"And you understand he remains a member of the company?"

"Yes. The bus access stopped. His shares didn't disappear."

She asked what I had paid myself since the dispute began.

"Nothing from company funds."

Mara gave her my expense log. I was glad she asked. I wanted the same rule to reach both chairs, even if mine was the less comfortable one.

Then came Ruth's account and the bank records.

"Was the $6,800 spent on advertising?" Mara asked.

"It was for my work."

"Was the fee approved in writing?"

"Owen knew I did the selling."

"Was it approved in writing?"

"No."

Nadine's lawyer took over for the film questions. He showed the storage contract, the first buyer's statement, and the nine invoices supplied during the records exchange.

Felix called the sales a way to move old stock.

Nadine's hand closed over her job book.

"These were portraits held for a paying customer," her lawyer said. "Where is that customer's permission to sell them?"

Felix said he had planned to get releases later.

The judge lowered her pen.

"After selling the property?"

Nobody answered for a moment.

The judge denied Felix's request for the keys. She said the present record showed my separate ownership and a valid suspension of his access. A final ruling would come later if we did not settle.

She ordered the $6,800 placed in escrow. Neither of us could draw on it without further agreement or an order.

She also barred Felix from selling or sharing the stored film, required him to preserve his records, and directed a full inventory and a documented effort to recall every sold set.

The order did not make strangers return packages by magic. It made Felix provide their details and take the approved steps to get them back.

Outside, he passed me without speaking.

Mara waited until we reached the stairs.

"That protects the next step," she said. "It isn't the last step."

I knew. We still had nine waiting clients, three refunds, missing negatives, and half a company attached to Felix's name.

Back at the yard, I put a copy of the order in the gray folder.

Nadine called before I shut it.

"The last buyer answered," she said. "He sent two sets to a scanning service. They're still there."