Chapter Fifteen U: The Interview Marla Refused
A reporter named Daniel Hsu arrived before the doors opened and asked to speak with Marla Voss.
He had seen a short description of the mailbox incident and wanted footage of the woman who had attacked it.
Marla stood beside the entrance holding Dennis’s brass booth tags.
She told him she would answer questions about the market but would not reenact the attack.
Daniel said he only wanted to understand what had happened.
Marla asked why his camera operator was pointing a lens toward her hands.
The operator lowered the camera.
Daniel apologized and asked whether she had believed the mailbox contained something important.
Marla explained that Nolan had told her the mailbox had been installed over a marker connected to Dennis’s disputed work.
She now understood that the explanation was false.
Daniel asked why she had not checked before using the axe.
Marla said she had been angry and wanted a simple action that would make the problem disappear.
She admitted that the action had hurt someone who had done nothing to deserve it.
Daniel asked whether she expected Evan to forgive her.
Marla said forgiveness was Evan’s decision.
She intended to replace what she had broken and accept responsibility regardless of his answer.
The reporter seemed surprised by the absence of a dramatic accusation.
He asked whether she would show him the brass tags.
Marla opened the pouch and placed them on a table.
Several tags carried the same numbers because Dennis had collected duplicates after the first festival.
Daniel examined them while Claire explained how the extra booth assignments had been sold.
Marla interrupted when Claire began describing Dennis as a hero.
She said Dennis had been a stubborn man who sometimes argued too long and listened too little.
He had also tried to keep an accessible entrance clear when others wanted more tables.
She wanted both things remembered.
Daniel asked whether she would speak on camera about that distinction.
Marla agreed.
The interview lasted less than five minutes.
She did not cry, shout, or blame anyone for the axe in her own hands.
When it ended, she put the tags away and went inside to visit Ruth’s pottery booth.
Daniel watched her leave and told his camera operator that the story was more complicated than the headline he had planned.
The operator said that was usually the case when people were allowed to finish answering a question.
Chapter Fifteen V: The Man Outside the Barrier
Nolan appeared near the loading entrance just as the final vendors were finishing their displays.
He stood beyond the temporary barrier wearing the same gray suit he had worn during the confrontation in the parking lot.
The superintendent approached him and asked whether he had a scheduled delivery.
Nolan said he had come to speak with Priya.
The superintendent told him to use the public entrance and wait until an organizer was available.
Nolan said he had helped build the event and should not need permission to enter.
The superintendent replied that everybody entering the service area needed permission.
Claire saw the exchange from the hall and walked toward the barrier.
Nolan smiled when he recognized her.
He said she had embarrassed him enough and should come home so they could settle the matter privately.
Claire said she had her own home and had not asked him to come.
He told her that she was repeating the same mistake she had made at the first festival.
Claire asked whether he meant telling people the truth about their reservations.
Nolan looked past her toward the vendors unloading boxes.
He said she had no idea how many people depended on him.
Claire answered that those people deserved to know what he was promising in their names.
Priya arrived with the superintendent.
She told Nolan that the market would proceed under the revised layout and that he was not authorized to change vendor assignments.
Nolan said he had investors expecting a public announcement.
Priya said any announcements would have to be made through the organizer and approved in advance.
He demanded a chance to defend his company.
Priya offered to schedule a meeting after the market closed.
Nolan refused because he wanted the discussion to happen in front of the crowd.
Claire recognized the tactic from the earlier festival.
She told him that the vendors had not traveled to the hall to watch their organizer argue with him.
Nolan stepped toward the barrier, and the superintendent raised a hand.
The older man did not threaten him.
He simply repeated that the service area was closed to unauthorized visitors.
Nolan looked around for someone willing to take his side.
Nobody moved.
He turned and walked toward the parking lot.
Claire watched until his car disappeared beyond the trees.
She felt no triumph.
She felt the strange quiet that followed a confrontation she had feared for years.
Priya asked whether she needed a moment before returning to the registration table.
Claire said she would rather help the next vendor find a space.
They went back inside together.
