"The Patinder family?" the patrol leader asked without bothering to hide his disdain.
Reed straightened slightly, positioning himself protectively in front of Fern. "What can we do for you?"
The man sketched a smile that never reached his eyes. "It seems someone from the Goldcrests wants to speak with you," he explained with false cordiality. "We've taken long to find you because you live on the edge of the dump, and around here there are few houses that aren't hidden in the vegetation... You live like wild beasts."
His eyes swept the place with evident repugnance, cataloging every worn surface, every patched piece of furniture.
"We had to increase our search efforts on this side and only succeeded on the last day of our deadline," he continued, checking a timepiece on his wrist that showed they'd been searching since early morning. "Fortunately, you had left traces when passing the border... permission to enter."
