Chapter 15: What Colin Reese Knew

Attorney Bellamy sent Cedar Gate a formal request to preserve communications relating to Walter’s property.
The request did not accuse the company of wrongdoing.
It simply identified the disputed offers and asked that relevant records not be destroyed while the matter was reviewed.
Colin Reese called Bellamy the next morning.
She later summarized the conversation for Walter and Angela in her office.
Reese said the company had received a list of potential sellers from a neighborhood consultant.
He initially refused to identify the consultant without examining the contract.
Bellamy asked whether the company had been told Walter wanted to sell.


Reese admitted that an outside contact had described the homeowner as distressed and eager for a fast transaction.
Walter sat upright.
He had never expressed that desire to anyone connected with Cedar Gate.
Bellamy asked Reese to preserve the source material and confirm what representations the company had relied upon.
Reese promised to consult his own attorney.
Angela wanted to accuse Brenda immediately.
Walter pointed out that they did not yet know whether she was the consultant.
It was possible that somebody else had supplied inaccurate information.
Bellamy nodded approvingly.
She advised Walter not to communicate with Reese directly while the correspondence was being sorted out.


On the drive home, Angela asked whether Walter regretted keeping copies of Brenda’s old notes.
He said he regretted having needed them.
He also wished that the initial offer had remained an ordinary business proposal rather than another form of pressure.
That afternoon a certified letter arrived confirming Cedar Gate would suspend direct contact pending clarification.
Walter placed it beside his deed.
He began to see the difference between uncertainty and powerlessness.
Uncertainty meant they still had questions.
Powerlessness would have meant they could not insist those questions be answered.

Chapter 16: A Sunday Call

The next call came from a number Walter did not recognize.


The caller introduced herself as Ruth Simmons, a former employee of the security company that had hired Darren.
She said she had seen the local news coverage and wanted to correct a detail about his work history.
Walter asked her to speak with Detective Price before sharing anything sensitive with him.
Ruth sounded relieved that he did not demand an immediate confession.
She explained that Darren had once been disciplined for presenting private patrols as though they carried public authority.
The company removed him from field duties pending additional training, and he resigned before completing it.
Ruth had supervised scheduling and retained no private files after leaving the business.


She knew the circumstances because she had attended the employment meeting.
Walter thanked her and gave her the investigator’s public number.
Ruth paused before hanging up.
She said she had seen people like Darren confuse an intimidating appearance with legitimate responsibility.
She wanted Walter to understand that the company did not teach employees to put frightened residents against their own houses.
Walter said he appreciated the distinction.
He did not want every person wearing a uniform blamed for Darren’s choices.
Later Detective Price confirmed that Ruth had contacted the department.
Walter felt an unexpected heaviness in his chest.
Each new witness made the story more credible,

but each also reminded him how deliberate the confrontation may have been.
He went outside and washed the dust from Lillian’s garden bench.
She had painted it blue during their last summer together.
Walter had avoided sitting there after her death because the empty space beside him seemed too visible.
Now he lowered himself onto the bench and let the sun warm his shoulders.
He imagined Lillian asking whether he had eaten lunch.
He rose, went inside, and made a sandwich.
Taking care of himself felt like a small refusal to live entirely inside Brenda’s conflict.