diff --git a/investigator-runtime/src/lib/search.ts b/investigator-runtime/src/lib/search.ts
index 15e664c..df8b7f8 100644
--- a/investigator-runtime/src/lib/search.ts
+++ b/investigator-runtime/src/lib/search.ts
@@ -68,13 +68,20 @@ export interface HybridSearchOpts {
 }
 
 /**
- * Fetch a single document's own chunks in reading order — no semantic
- * gating. For a per-document case file the narrator wants THIS document's
- * substance, not a corpus search; a hybridSearch keyed on the document's
- * (often garbage) auto-derived topic returns zero hits even though the
- * doc has dozens of embedded chunks. We pull substantive `is_searchable`
- * chunks ordered by `order_global` so the document tells its own story in
- * sequence.
+ * Fetch a single document's own chunks — no semantic gating. For a
+ * per-document case file the narrator wants THIS document's substance, not
+ * a corpus search; a hybridSearch keyed on the document's (often garbage)
+ * auto-derived topic returns zero hits even though the doc has dozens of
+ * embedded chunks.
+ *
+ * We pick the most substantive chunks (by content length, deprioritising
+ * pure redaction boxes) and THEN present them in reading order. Naively
+ * taking the first N by `order_global` starves the narrator on long files:
+ * the opening chunks of a 1000-chunk FBI dossier are cover pages, routing
+ * slips, classification stamps and redaction boxes — administrative front
+ * matter, not narrative. The substance sits deeper in the file, so a
+ * length-ranked pick surfaces it regardless of position, while the final
+ * reading-order sort keeps the story coherent.
  */
 export async function fetchDocChunks(
   doc_id: string,
@@ -83,15 +90,23 @@ export async function fetchDocChunks(
 ): Promise<SearchHit[]> {
   if (!doc_id) return [];
   return await query<SearchHit>(
-    `SELECT chunk_pk, doc_id, chunk_id, page, type, bbox,
+    `WITH ranked AS (
+       SELECT chunk_pk, doc_id, chunk_id, page, type, bbox,
+              content_en, content_pt, classification,
+              order_global, order_in_page,
+              length(COALESCE(content_en,'') || COALESCE(content_pt,'')) AS richness
+         FROM public.chunks
+        WHERE doc_id = $1
+          AND is_searchable = TRUE
+          AND length(COALESCE(content_en,'') || COALESCE(content_pt,'')) > 40
+        ORDER BY (type = 'redaction') ASC, richness DESC
+        LIMIT $2
+     )
+     SELECT chunk_pk, doc_id, chunk_id, page, type, bbox,
             content_en, content_pt, classification,
             1.0::float8 AS score, NULL::int AS bm25_rank, NULL::int AS dense_rank
-       FROM public.chunks
-      WHERE doc_id = $1
-        AND is_searchable = TRUE
-        AND length(COALESCE(content_en,'') || COALESCE(content_pt,'')) > 40
-      ORDER BY order_global ASC NULLS LAST, page ASC, order_in_page ASC
-      LIMIT $2`,
+       FROM ranked
+      ORDER BY order_global ASC NULLS LAST, page ASC, order_in_page ASC`,
     [doc_id, limit],
   );
 }