Rich Man arrives at Northside Diner carrying the VC-184 folder. His injured knuckles ache with each step, while the diner’s receiving area smells of coffee, grease, and damp cardboard.
Mara Venn, a middle-aged woman with a sturdy build, cropped dark hair, and a red diner vest over a gray shirt, sorts invoices beside several empty storage spaces.
An account ledger lies open on a scarred desk near the receiving door. Its pages are weighted by a metal spoon, and one line is marked in blue beside the Northside account.
Mara Venn
If you are here about the delivery, you should know the manager is not on this shift.
She notices the folder in Rich Man’s hand, then looks toward the empty storage bays. Four spaces sit cleanly outlined in dust, as though boxes were recently removed.
Mara Venn
Those shelves held vanilla sleeves. The account ledger should show whether they were transferred properly, unless someone altered that too.
Jonas Sutter remains behind through the telephone connection and does not accompany Rich Man. The diner’s open records, Mara’s guarded attention, and the marked ledger await examination.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the delivery records are reliable
“Tell Mara she looks good as hell and determine whether the delivery records are reliable”
SUCCESS (Fair Investigation, rolled -1)
Rich Man
You look good as hell. I also need to determine whether these delivery records are reliable.
Mara Venn’s eyebrows rise. Rich Man reaches across the desk, lifts the metal spoon from the open ledger, and draws the book closer without disturbing the marked page.
Mara Venn
That is an unusual way to introduce an audit. But the compliment is noted. Start with the receiving stamps.
The ledger’s blue-marked entry matches the VC-184 folder: four vanilla sleeves transferred to Northside, charged against the shop account. Mara Venn produces a carbon receipt from beneath the ledger.
Mara Venn
The records are reliable for what happened here. The transfer was logged, counted, and signed by me. They are not proof the shop manager had permission.
The carbon receipt bears Mara Venn’s initials, the same copy number, and a delivery time twenty minutes after the shop clock stopped. Rich Man has a corroborating record, but Mara Venn now watches him carefully.
Mara Venn
If you are accusing me of helping him, say it plainly. Otherwise, compare the signatures before you decide what these papers prove.
Quest Complete
Determine whether the delivery records are reliable