A former Wilton usher named Patricia Lane raised her hand.
“There’s something about the applications that bothers me,” she said.
“What is it?” the advocate asked.
“My grandson auditioned. He says they wouldn’t let anyone leave with a copy of the agreement.”
“That sounds consistent with what Leo described,” Rachel said.
“But they asked every family to provide a photograph of the child standing against the wall with a measuring tape.”
“Costume fitting,” another parent suggested.
Patricia shook her head.
“That’s what they said, but there were no measurements on the paperwork.”
Rachel remembered Miriam’s old costume archive.
“Maybe Dana wanted to make her program look larger than it was,” Rachel said.
“Maybe,” Patricia answered.
“But I want somebody to check where those photographs went.”
The advocate recommended that parents bring those concerns to the detective rather than circulate images in group messages.
Rachel wrote the recommendation on a sheet at the front of the room.
By the end of the meeting, twenty-three families had requested a formal information session with investigators.
CHAPTER NINE — THE CLOSED CURTAIN
Detective Chen requested a meeting with the parents at the civic center on Saturday morning.
He began by explaining which facts the police could confirm and which questions remained under investigation.
Leo and Iris did not attend.
Their families had decided that neither teenager needed to face a room full of strangers who wanted answers.
Rachel sat beside Miriam in the last row, although neither woman had arranged it.
Chen told the audience that several applicants had been asked to sign restrictive agreements under pressure.
He said that the investigation had identified misrepresentations about professional affiliations and possible unlawful confinement.
He did not promise that every complaint would lead to criminal charges.
A woman in the front row raised her hand.
“What happens to the money we paid?”
Chen explained that the financial complaints were being referred for appropriate review.
“We will not ask anyone to pay another fee to recover a fee already paid,” he added.
Several parents exchanged bitter smiles.
An official had evidently seen that kind of exploitation before.
Rachel stood when the moderator invited property owners to speak.
She told the room that she had rented the space after receiving a signed agreement and references that appeared credible.
“I didn’t know about the coercion,” she said.
“But I did know the room was being used by minors, and I should have checked the program’s authorization more carefully.”
A man near the aisle interrupted.
“So you’re admitting you helped them?”
“I’m admitting I provided a room without doing enough verification.”
“Will you repay everybody?”
“My attorney is helping me determine what responsibility I have.”
The answer disappointed people who wanted an immediate promise.
Rachel understood their frustration.
She also knew that an impossible promise would offer little help when the bills came due.
“I will make my rental documents available to investigators,” she continued.
“And I won’t rent the room for youth programs again without independent safeguards.”
The moderator thanked her and called the next speaker.
Rachel sat down, trembling.
Miriam kept her eyes on the stage.
“That was difficult,” she whispered.
“It should have been,” Rachel answered.
