It did conclude that the integrity of the bidding process had been compromised.
The city terminated the disputed award under its procurement rules and announced a new competitive process with independent oversight.
My company was allowed to compete, but the city did not promise me the contract.
I was relieved by that limitation.
I wanted a fair opportunity, not a reward handed out because I had been wronged.
Grant’s company challenged the termination and argued that it had not authorized the surveillance.
The city maintained its decision while the challenge proceeded.
Local reporters asked whether I felt vindicated.
I said I was glad the city had addressed the process and that I hoped the library would be renovated without unnecessary delay.
One reporter asked whether I wanted Grant arrested.
I said investigators should follow the evidence and make their own decisions.
The answer sounded cautious, but it was the only one I trusted.
That evening my subcontractor called to say he would work with me on the rebid.
He said he had wondered whether our pricing had leaked after a competitor submitted an unusually similar approach.
I asked why he had never told me.
He said he had been afraid I would think he was making excuses.
I told him I had spent months making excuses for people who did not deserve them.
We agreed to rebuild the proposal from scratch.
Chapter 50: A House Divided
Briar Glen’s association held a special election after the independent review found that meeting records had been altered.
The audit traced the unauthorized edit to an account assigned to a former board secretary.
The secretary said Patricia had requested the change and had described it as a correction.
Patricia disputed that account.
The board referred the matter to its counsel and adopted new controls for approving and archiving minutes.
At the election, neighbors filled the school cafeteria until folding chairs had to be brought from a storage room.
People argued about budgets, security, and whether the association should exist at all.
I did not run for a position.
I had no desire to replace Patricia as the neighborhood’s loudest voice.
I voted for candidates who promised published minutes, open financial records, and clear limits on board authority.
A retired teacher named Gloria Bennett became president.
She stood at the front of the room and said the association would maintain common areas, not monitor private lives.
The applause surprised me.
Afterward, a neighbor who had once complained about my work van approached me near the exit.
He said he had believed Patricia because she always sounded certain.
He apologized for repeating her claims without asking questions.
