“He probably would have asked if we’d checked the numbers first.”
They laughed, and the small sound eased the tension between them.
For once, Jonah’s memory felt like company rather than a burden.
Chapter 28: Leonard Pike Testimony
Leonard Pike appeared for a deposition after his attorney negotiated the schedule and scope of the questions.
His arrival ended weeks of speculation but did not immediately settle anything.
He carried a thick binder and spoke as if every decision had been made under impossible pressure.
He confirmed that he directed the final relocation operations.
He also confirmed that the second group vehicle was canceled.
According to Leonard, the residents received individual travel arrangements instead.
Mara asked where the arrangements were recorded.
Leonard pointed to forms already in evidence.
Mara showed him Edith’s statement and the motel record concerning Bernard.
Leonard said the staff had relied on information supplied by partner agencies.
He could not identify the employees who verified the bookings.
When asked about Northbridge’s housing invoices, he said the contractor handled its own accounting.
Selma later compared his answers with correspondence from Gloria Mercer.
One email from Leonard instructed accounting to classify incomplete transport files as resolved before the board reviewed the closure.
Leonard claimed the wording referred to administrative reconciliation rather than actual placements.
The distinction would be tested in court.
Caleb read the deposition summary after his shift and felt a surge of disappointment.
He had hoped Leonard would confess that the documents were false.
Instead, the former director described a maze of responsibilities and insisted that each decision was reasonable at the time.
Mara asked Caleb what he had expected.
“Somebody to say they knew what happened,” he answered.
“Sometimes people can’t remember,” Mara said.
“Sometimes they remember selectively, and sometimes their decisions seemed ordinary until the consequences became obvious.”
The case did not need a dramatic confession to establish responsibility.
It needed a reliable account of what the records meant and who had authority over them.
Leonard’s testimony established that he had known the second van did not run.
It also showed he had allowed the board to receive a report implying every listed trip had been completed.
Those facts mattered even without a statement of intent.
Arthur read the transcript carefully.
He later said the worst sentence was Leonard’s description of the residents as a logistical burden.
“Nobody was a burden when a donor wanted a photograph,” Arthur said.
“They became a burden when someone needed a building emptied.”
