Nora told him she did not know, but suspected Elise had believed the pouch would survive an ordinary household move better than loose papers.
Owen said he would have hidden it inside a cereal box because nobody wanted the cereal with too much bran.
Nora laughed for the first time that week and agreed that his hiding place might have been better.
Chapter 10: The First Public Meeting
Jasmine arranged a meeting in a neighborhood community center with several former residents and an independent engineer.
Nora invited Henry but insisted that he attend without his public relations team.
He arrived with Claire and sat in the second row rather than behind a table.
The engineer explained what could be confirmed from the available records and what remained uncertain.
He warned that the documents did not establish the cause of anyone’s illness.
They did establish that testing results and maintenance schedules had been described inconsistently.
Doreen held up her husband’s photographs for everyone to see.
Henry recognized one of the workers and asked whether he could examine the original print.
Doreen said he could look but not take it away.
Henry respected the condition.
A man near the back asked why anyone should trust the founder of the company that had withheld information.
Henry stood and said they should not trust him on his word alone.
He promised to authorize access to surviving records subject to legal and privacy requirements.
Jasmine asked that the commitment be put in writing with a timetable.
Henry agreed.
Nora watched as a woman who had once been ignored by maintenance staff interrupted the wealthiest man in the room and demanded a clearer answer.
Henry listened without asking anyone to defend him.
That mattered more to Nora than the Bentley outside.
After the meeting, several people approached to thank her.
Nora told them that the work belonged to her mother and to the residents who had kept evidence.
She was only helping gather the pieces.
Chapter 10A: The List of Questions
After the first public meeting, Jasmine gathered everyone who had volunteered to help and asked them to write down what they still needed to learn.
The group included a retired teacher, an apartment resident, an engineering graduate student, and a nurse who had never worked in industrial research.
Nora expected them to agree quickly because everyone wanted answers from Whitmore Industries.
Instead, they argued for nearly an hour about which questions belonged at the top of the list.
The retired teacher wanted the complete history of the building renovations.
