The judge noted that the installation had been unauthorized and that the equipment was being used to record private activity.
He also noted that my actions had occurred immediately after discovery rather than as part of a planned effort to conceal evidence.
Simone read the ruling aloud over the phone because I could barely concentrate on the words.
I asked her to repeat the final paragraph.
She did.
Patricia would not recover damages from me for the device.
I sat down on the stairs and listened to the house settle around me.
The refrigerator hummed.
A delivery truck passed outside.
Somewhere upstairs a pipe clicked as the heat turned on.
I had spent so many nights interpreting ordinary noises as signs of danger that I almost missed the relief.
Simone reminded me that other investigations remained open.
I told her I understood.
Then I thanked her for never promising me an ending she could not guarantee.
Chapter 55: What Patricia Knew
Patricia eventually agreed to an interview with investigators after her civil claim was dismissed.
Her attorney released a statement saying she would cooperate fully.
I learned the substance of her account only through later public proceedings and documents Simone could properly share.
Patricia admitted that she had provided access to my house during a neighborhood gathering months earlier.
She had offered to help carry a borrowed folding table inside while I was distracted by guests.
She said a Clearline contractor had entered with her and placed the camera inside the clock.
I remembered the gathering.
I remembered Patricia insisting that my father’s clock would look better on the mantel than on the bookshelf where I usually kept it.
I had thought she was being nosy.
I had not imagined she was arranging the angle of a lens.
Patricia said she believed Halden Development would use the footage to document improper commercial activity.
She also acknowledged receiving money labeled as consulting compensation.
Investigators examined whether she understood the footage would be used to access confidential business information.
Her statements changed on that point more than once.
I wanted to know exactly when she realized what she had done.
No document could tell me that.
I knew only that she had seen my private life and had still chosen to sue me when I discovered the device.
That decision belonged to her, whatever anyone else had promised.
Chapter 56: The Hearing Across Town
A separate administrative hearing examined the procurement misconduct involving Halden Development.
Grant testified that he had not personally requested surveillance of my home.
He acknowledged that a senior manager had authorized payments to Clearline under an improperly described consulting account.
