Under his plate was a single sheet of county records. The basement unit had never been permitted as a dwelling. No egress window, no separate smoke detection, no certificate of occupancy, and a bedroom below grade rented at market rate for eleven months. Beneath that was the printout of the complaint Adelaide had filed with the housing office that morning, reference number visible, and a copy of the state statute on unlawful entry with the relevant subsection underlined in pencil. She had not shouted at him once. She had simply spent an afternoon on the phone while I was at work.

He offered me the room free for a year. Adelaide said no on my behalf, politely, and then told him what she actually wanted, which was every dollar of the eleven months’ rent returned, because a landlord cannot collect on an illegal unit and he had known that when he listed it. He paid it in three instalments. Eight thousand four hundred dollars.