diff --git a/investigator-runtime/src/detectives/case_writer.ts b/investigator-runtime/src/detectives/case_writer.ts
index 6e23365..e605c15 100644
--- a/investigator-runtime/src/detectives/case_writer.ts
+++ b/investigator-runtime/src/detectives/case_writer.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,13 @@ interface BriefRow {
   unexplained_pt_br: string;
 }
 
+interface ContradictionRow {
+  contradiction_id: string;
+  topic: string;
+  topic_pt_br: string | null;
+  chunks: unknown;
+}
+
 function topicSlug(topic: string): string {
   return topic
     .toLowerCase()
@@ -158,12 +165,29 @@ function renderBrief(b: BriefRow | null, lang: "pt" | "en"): string {
   ].join("\n");
 }
 
+function renderTensions(rows: ContradictionRow[], lang: "pt" | "en"): string {
+  if (rows.length === 0) return "_(no tensions in the record)_";
+  return rows.map((c) => {
+    const topic = lang === "pt" ? (c.topic_pt_br ?? c.topic) : c.topic;
+    const positions = Array.isArray(c.chunks) ? c.chunks as Array<Record<string, unknown>> : [];
+    const lines = positions.slice(0, 3).map((p) => {
+      const stmt = lang === "pt"
+        ? (p.statement_pt_br as string) ?? (p.statement as string)
+        : (p.statement as string);
+      const pageStr = String(p.page ?? "").padStart(3, "0");
+      return `  - ${stmt}  [[${p.doc_id}/p${pageStr}#${p.chunk_id}]]`;
+    }).join("\n");
+    return `### ${topic}\n${lines}`;
+  }).join("\n\n");
+}
+
 function buildPrompt(
   task: CaseWriterTask,
   scenes: SearchHit[],
   evidence: EvidenceRow[],
   witnesses: WitnessRow[],
   gaps: GapRow[],
+  tensions: ContradictionRow[],
   brief: BriefRow | null,
   lang: "pt" | "en",
 ): string {
@@ -210,6 +234,15 @@ function buildPrompt(
     "",
     renderNamedWitnesses(witnesses),
     "",
+    "## Tensions in the record",
+    "",
+    "Points where the documents disagree with each other — a witness says",
+    "green, another says red; one report fixes a date, another contradicts",
+    "it. These are intrigue, not failure. Use them to build suspense: the",
+    "record itself could not settle the question.",
+    "",
+    renderTensions(tensions, lang),
+    "",
     "## Strategic brief (internal — do NOT cite or attribute)",
     "",
     "A separate analyst built the strongest pro-anomaly reading the corpus",
@@ -321,6 +354,16 @@ export async function runCaseWriter(task: CaseWriterTask): Promise<
   ).catch(() => [] as BriefRow[]);
   const brief = briefRows[0] ?? null;
 
+  // Tensions — Dupin's contradictions on this topic. Enthusiast-grade
+  // intrigue ("the record disagreed with itself"), not skeptic framing.
+  const tensions = await query<ContradictionRow>(
+    `SELECT contradiction_id, topic, topic_pt_br, chunks
+       FROM public.contradictions
+      WHERE LOWER(topic) LIKE $1 OR LOWER(COALESCE(topic_pt_br,'')) LIKE $1
+      ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 4`,
+    [filter],
+  ).catch(() => [] as ContradictionRow[]);
+
   await audit({
     event: "case_writer_grounded",
     job_id: task.job_id,
@@ -340,7 +383,7 @@ export async function runCaseWriter(task: CaseWriterTask): Promise<
   }
 
   const systemPrompt = await readFile(PROMPT_PATH, "utf-8");
-  const prompt = buildPrompt(task, scenes, evidence, witnesses, gaps, brief, lang);
+  const prompt = buildPrompt(task, scenes, evidence, witnesses, gaps, tensions, brief, lang);
 
   // Case-writer wants more output budget than the other detectives.
   const llm = await callClaude({