“Someone did.”
Evelyn laid a hand on the drafting tube. “And now someone wants to do it again.”
The following morning Mara visited Julian’s temporary office in the town recreation center. She placed her measuring tape on his desk and asked for a full demonstration of the moving platform.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “When everything is ready.”
“I need to see it today.”
“We have a schedule.”
“Then revise it.”
He smiled. “You can’t demand constant concessions because you have sentimental concerns about an antique.”
“I’m the person whose signature goes on the mechanical inspection.”
“Only the auxiliary structures. Our corporate engineer signs off on the central attraction.”
“Who is that engineer?”
“He’ll be on-site tomorrow.”
Mara sat across from him. “There’s an extra control input on the original system.”
Julian’s pen stopped moving.
“An extra input,” she repeated. “Number five. It’s what made the floor jump.”
He recovered quickly. “Fascinating. I imagine the old equipment was very unreliable.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Julian set the pen down. “And you know nothing about what it took to put this attraction back together. A town that has spent fourteen years looking backward finally has a chance to do something remarkable. You are about to ruin it over a story you heard from someone who hates me.”
“Then show me the controller.”
“No.”
The word came out too fast. His features rearranged into a smile.
“I mean, not while our crew is working. Safety policy.”
Mara stood. “I’ll tell the council I won’t approve the auxiliary structures until the floor is inspected.”
“Do that,” Julian said softly. “And Brightline withdraws the entire show. Every school fundraiser, every vendor, all the people expecting income this weekend. You can explain it to them.”
Mara walked out with the knowledge that Julian wasn’t bluffing about the leverage he held. The centennial committee had spent nearly its entire event budget on his production. Their decorations, printed schedules, and food permits were built around Brightline’s promised spectacle.
Outside the recreation center, Leon sat on the curb with a roll of silver tape. He looked shaken.
“Ellis asked me to hold a connector while he tested a control board,” he said. “There was a fifth plug. He said it was just for the lights.”
“Did you touch it?”
“No. But I saw the label.”
“What did it say?”
“GARDEN.”
***
On the walk home, Mara found Evelyn waiting on her porch with a bucket, rags, and a bottle of paint-safe solvent.
“I’d like to try removing the pink,” Evelyn said.
“It’s dry.”
“I brought patience.”
Mara handed her gloves. They worked beneath a porch lamp, carefully testing the siding before scrubbing each painted patch. The camera housing was beyond saving, but the siding slowly returned to white. For a while they spoke only about whether the solvent was doing more harm than good.
