CHAPTER EIGHT: THE RED FUNNEL

Claire’s photograph of the red funnel became important on Saturday evening.
A fire investigator named Daniel Cho invited Nina and Claire to explain the sequence of events separately.
Cho had already examined the recovered bottle and the area around the pool.
He explained the difference between an allegation, a physical observation, and a conclusion that required laboratory work.
“The container held a flammable petroleum product,” he said.
“We have not finished every test that would identify its precise composition.”
Nina nodded.
“Claire saw Evelyn fill it.”
“We’d like Claire to describe the event in her own words.”
Claire did.
She recalled arriving early at Harborline, hearing a metal cap rattle, and finding Evelyn in the loading bay with a green bottle and a red funnel.


A small can marked for a vehicle’s fuel storage sat beside her.
Gavin stood nearby, holding a clipboard.
Evelyn asked Claire to fetch paper towels.
When Claire returned, Gavin had folded a photograph of Nina’s pool into his clipboard.
“What did he say?” Cho asked.
“That the property owner needed to understand how a real hazard affected scheduling.”
“Did he tell Evelyn to pour the liquid?”
Claire hesitated.
“I didn’t hear those words.”
“That’s fine,” Cho said.
“Tell us only what you heard.”
Claire looked relieved by the permission not to be certain.
“He asked whether she was ready to make the phone call after the incident.”
Nina leaned forward.
“What phone call?”
“He wanted a report submitted to the county that the property was unsafe,” Claire said.
“Then he wanted to announce that all remaining examinations had been postponed by circumstances beyond his control.

”
Cho asked whether Claire had heard a specific claim about completing those examinations later.
“Gavin said certificates would stand because the candidates had already completed equivalent assessments,” she answered.
“Equivalent where?” Nina asked.
“He wouldn’t say.”
The investigator recorded the answer without editorial comment.
Before leaving, Nina asked whether she should be afraid of Gavin.
Cho paused.
“If anyone threatens you, report it,” he said.
“Don’t confront people to obtain evidence.”
“He’s still advertising my address.”
“Preserve that advertisement and report it through the channels we’ve discussed.”
Nina knew that was the responsible answer.
She also knew that responsibility rarely felt as satisfying as walking into a liar’s office and demanding the truth.
Outside the station, Claire touched Nina’s elbow.
“I have something else to tell you.”
They moved beneath the awning near the parking lot.
“Evelyn called me this morning,” Claire said.
“From where?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did she want?”
“She wanted me to say she was testing a harmless cleaning solution.”
“Did you agree?”
“No.”
“What did she say then?”
Claire looked toward the road.
“She said Gavin had promised the academy would cover her medical bills if she helped him.”
Nina frowned.
“Medical bills?”
“Her husband’s home care expenses have been piling up since last winter.”
Nina remembered the ambulance that had come to Evelyn’s driveway in January.
She had brought over a casserole and been told to leave it on the porch.
“He needs full-time assistance now,” Claire continued.
“Gavin offered to pay for it.”
“That doesn’t explain why she chose to endanger my home.”
“No,” Claire agreed.
“But it explains why she listened.”
Nina stared at the cars passing beneath the streetlights.
She felt no urge to forgive Evelyn.
Understanding the pressure made the decision more disturbing, not less.
Somebody had identified a frightened older woman and given her a job that turned another family’s backyard into collateral.
“We should tell Cho,” Nina said.
“We will,” Claire replied.
The next call on Nina’s phone was from Tessa.
“Harborline just announced an emergency assessment session for tomorrow,” she said.
“Where?”
“At the Seabrook Hotel.”
“Does Seabrook have a pool?”
“They do.”
“Is it open to the public?”
“Not since the renovation started.”
Nina closed her eyes.
The academy had found another address that sounded plausible.
Whether a single swimmer ever entered the water was still anybody’s guess.