She suggested a used telescope instead.
Jonah told her that was how planning worked.
Two weeks later a science teacher offered a donated telescope that needed a replacement eyepiece.
Lucy spent Saturday cleaning the tripod while Jonah searched for the correct part.
They repaired it together at the kitchen table.
The first clear night, they carried it outside and looked at the moon.
Lucy said the craters were more beautiful because she had waited to see them.
Jonah did not tell her that waiting was always good.
He knew too many people who had waited for help that never came.
He simply stood beside her until the air grew cold.
Chapter Seventeen: The Vendor Who Changed His Story
A supplier named Paul Mercer contacted Teresa after reading about the wage investigation.
He said Dennis had pressured him to change invoice dates during a difficult financial quarter.
Teresa referred him to Hannah rather than conducting her own interrogation.
Paul arrived at the meeting with copies of three statements.
The first statement claimed he had changed dates at Dennis’s request.
The second said the changes were ordinary accounting corrections.
The third contained no explanation at all.
Hannah asked which statement was accurate.
Paul admitted he had written the second after Dennis threatened to stop ordering from his company.
He said he had written the third because he was afraid both men would accuse him of dishonesty.
Jonah asked why Paul had not spoken sooner.
Paul said he had employees of his own and feared losing a major customer.
Marta said his fear had not prevented the diner workers from suffering.
Paul accepted that without defending himself.
Hannah explained that changing a statement could damage his credibility, but correcting it now was still important.
She asked for supporting records rather than relying on his account alone.
Paul produced delivery receipts and bank deposits that established when several transactions occurred.
Some records supported his latest statement.
Others remained ambiguous.
Hannah documented both categories.
Afterward Paul approached Jonah in the hallway.
He said he had imagined the workers would celebrate his decision to speak.
Jonah told him they were grateful for accurate evidence, not for the discomfort of receiving it late.
Paul nodded.
He said he wished there were an easier way to repair a reputation.
Jonah said he did not know one.
That evening Paul called his own staff meeting and announced new procedures for approving invoice changes.
