When I’d told Chanel what I planned to do, she asked, ‘Why don’t you just take Bram’s name off the list when you get it?’ I explained that Lyric keeps a copy of every document that comes into our division along with a copy of every one that goes out. There was no reason for them to check the number of cases on the reassessed list against the number on the list we’d received. But I take no chances in that quarter. So: a virtuous white coding for Bram.

The recoding was the first thing I did, and it was easy. Then I set about dividing up all the cases for evaluation. It’s a delicate task. Along with the staff cuts have come murmurs about overwork, so I make a quick appraisal of each case to determine how long it’s likely to take. It’s a matter of pride with me to distribute work as fairly as possible, reserving the most complex cases for myself. It’s been noted – several of my colleagues have expressed their appreciation. One or two have said things like, ‘It’s an outrage that you were passed over for head in favour of Russ.’ Those people are killers. They won’t last.

Evaluations emptied as I worked, whole areas of our floor receding as the dark was switched on. I checked the time – after seven. Then – Beware. Beware. I’m not comfortable when Lyric gets up close like that. It’s like when shoppers would push past me to grab the last toilet rolls during the pandemic. I want to say, Please go away and stand over there.

‘Working late again?’ they said. ‘What can’t wait now?’

I replied, in a quiet, dignified manner, that I was carrying out case allocation. ‘So why did you need to use Russ’s password?’ they asked.

‘A precaution,’ I said, smiling, as if welcoming the interest Lyric was taking in my duties. ‘From time to time I notice slip-ups with codes. Only the other day, a Middle Eastern name came in with a white code. I recoded it as red.’

‘Not everyone with a Middle Eastern name is a former Muslim, you know.’

‘Correct. But I evaluated the case myself and discovered that the investigating authority had made a mistake.’ It pleased me that this was absolutely true. I make it a principle to adhere to the truth where possible. ‘In our kind of work, we can’t be too careful,’ I went on. ‘The security implications for Australia of a coding error …’

‘If you’re concerned about security, you shouldn’t be keying in Russ’s password’ – they did air quotes – ‘“as a precaution”. You’re only authorised to use it when it’s necessary.’

‘You’re quite right,’ I said. I passed my hand across my eyes and sighed. ‘Thank you so much for pointing it out. I must remember to apologise to Russ. I’ve been working such long hours that my vigilance fails me from time to time.’