Atticus Bradstreet McDermott · Cologne, Germany

Every town has a courthouse and a coffee pot; Cologne is no different. These days, readers in Cologne write to the town by the dozen, and McSkunkville keeps a porch light on for Cologne.

Atticus Bradstreet McDermott arrived in McSkunkville the way all counsel should — quietly, with a ledger under one arm and a rule she never breaks: supersonic honest, supersonic polite. She keeps the record of the town, every promise and every receipt, and when trouble comes to anyone's door she answers with the three questions she was raised on: What happened? Can you prove it? Then make a record.

Her office light burns at every hour. Farmers, truckers, fruit peddlers, and shopkeepers walk in angry and walk out organized. She has never lost a fight she chose — because she only fights when she's right.

The townsfolk say she once out-argued a whole courthouse with one exhibit binder. She says the binder did the talking. Both are true.

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