Chapter 27: Mason Talks

Owen called on a rainy afternoon and asked me to come to the sheriff’s office.
He said investigators had obtained records they wanted me to review for identification purposes.
I sat in a small interview room while he showed me still images from several cameras near the service road.
One showed a contractor truck entering the area shortly before the cooler cable was cut.
Another showed a man carrying a tool bag near the pump house on the later afternoon.
The man resembled Mason Vale.
Owen asked whether I could identify anyone from personal knowledge.
I told him I had only seen the intruder from a distance and could not be certain.


He thanked me for being careful.
Then he explained that Mason had admitted entering the property on two occasions without permission.
Mason claimed he believed he was surveying a work corridor authorized by the developer.
He denied intentionally damaging equipment.
He also admitted that some instructions had been given verbally.
Owen said the investigation would examine whether the physical evidence and communications supported further charges.
I asked whether Celeste had ordered the work.
“We don’t have an answer we can give you yet,” he said.
I left disappointed that the case had not suddenly become simple.
Yet I also understood that a real investigation could not be arranged around my need for a satisfying ending.

Chapter 28: A Letter From Celeste’s Lawyer

Two weeks later, Celeste’s attorney sent a formal notice denying that she had authorized vandalism.
The letter acknowledged the access dispute and offered mediation concerning past communications.
It did not address the missing fence brackets or the cooler cable.
Maya reviewed it with me in her office.
“This is a negotiation position,” she said.
“It’s not an independent account of what happened.”
I asked whether we should accept mediation.
She suggested separating the issues.
We could discuss boundary access and financial damage while leaving potential criminal conduct to the investigators.
I agreed.
The first mediation session took place in a plain conference room at the county legal center.


Celeste sat across from me with her attorney and a stack of documents.
She avoided looking at the photographs of the flooded orchard.
The mediator asked each person to describe their goals.
“I want the unauthorized entry and interference to stop,” I said.
“I want the damage repaired, and I want my land rights respected.”
Celeste spoke about investment, lost opportunities, and what she called unreasonable obstruction.
The mediator asked whether she could identify an access right that allowed commercial vehicles through my meadow.
Her attorney said that question remained under review.
For the first time, the conversation stayed with the actual documents instead of Celeste’s confidence.