CHAPTER THREE: THE ROOM WITHOUT A VOICE
Nora arrived at the meeting because she could not stop thinking about the crossed-out name.
The former radio theater occupied the top floor of a narrow building near the harbor.
Its entrance smelled of salt, damp plaster, and old wood polish.
A temporary fence surrounded the street-facing wall.
Inside, volunteers were carrying folding chairs into an auditorium with cracked velvet seats.
Walter stood near the stage, wearing the same gray sling.
His face brightened when he saw Nora.
He introduced her to a woman named Imani Reed, who had once managed the theater’s technical crews.
Imani greeted Nora warmly but asked Walter whether he had explained the situation honestly.
Walter admitted that he had not explained very much.
Imani closed her eyes with the weary expression of someone recognizing an old habit.
She took Nora aside and told her what the invitation concealed.
A public hearing would determine whether the theater could receive a temporary preservation order.
The preservation board wanted evidence that the building still served a living community.
Walter had spent weeks gathering former performers and volunteers.
His efforts had collapsed after a recording surfaced in which he appeared to insult the people who had worked for him.
The recording had spread through neighborhood groups, and former supporters had withdrawn.
Walter insisted that the recording had been assembled from unrelated conversations.
He had no original copy to prove his claim.
Nora asked why he needed her.
Imani said that Walter believed the room required a stranger who would not treat him like a legend.
Nora looked across the auditorium at the empty stage.
She told Imani that a stranger could not repair years of broken trust.
Imani agreed immediately.
That answer surprised Nora enough to keep her from leaving.
A contractor named Malcolm Dyer arrived with two assistants and a measuring wheel.
He informed the volunteers that their gathering had no authority to interrupt scheduled structural assessments.
Walter stepped toward him, and his damaged arm swung painfully.
Malcolm said that the building was unsafe and that nostalgia would not keep the ceiling from falling.
Imani demanded the latest inspection report.
Malcolm replied that his office had provided every document required by the city.
Nora watched him carefully.
He never looked toward the cracked ceiling while speaking about safety.
Instead, he kept looking at the stage door, where a narrow passage led into darkness.
A volunteer announced that the sound system was working.
The speakers emitted a burst of static, followed by a woman’s recorded laughter.
Walter went pale.
He asked Imani to shut the system down immediately.
The laughter stopped, but the room remained silent in a different way.
Nora asked whose voice they had heard.
Walter said that it belonged to a performer named Evelyn Shaw.
He added that Evelyn had died twelve years earlier.
Imani looked at him sharply.
She said that the voice did not belong to Evelyn at all.
