CHAPTER TEN — THE DAY BEFORE THE VOTE
Monday began with a phone call from Ellis’s school counselor.
Paula had arrived at the front office and asked whether Ellis could be released early for a community-service appointment.
She had presented herself as an approved family support volunteer.
The school refused because Paula was not on the authorized pickup list.
Staff contacted Nia and then called us.
Ellis had not been told about the attempted pickup.
I thanked the counselor and asked that the children never be placed in the position of refusing Paula themselves.
“That’s the adults’ job,” the counselor agreed.
Gabriel left work early after I called him.
He was quiet on the drive to school.
“She actually went there,” he said.
“Yes.”
“She thought a smile and a volunteer title would work.
”
I stared at the passing storefronts.
“Or she thought somebody would be afraid to challenge her.”
At school, we met Ellis and explained what had happened in plain terms.
She listened carefully.
“Did she say Theo was waiting?” she asked.
The counselor checked her notes.
“She said the appointment involved a sibling support program,” she replied.
Ellis folded her arms.
“She wanted me to think he would be there.”
I could see the anger developing beneath her fear.
“You didn’t have to deal with her,” I said.
“The school followed the safety plan.”
Ellis looked at Gabriel.
“Can I tell the investigator she asked me to come to the meeting?”
“Yes,” he said.
“With Nia’s help, you can tell what happened in your own words.”
We arranged the conversation through the appropriate professionals.
By late afternoon, the school had issued a reminder to staff about pickup verification without exposing Ellis’s private situation to other families.
Nia confirmed that Tuesday’s placement review would proceed as scheduled.
Paula’s actions would not be treated as evidence against us.
I had barely finished that call when the utility company rang.
A security supervisor named Theresa Gant asked to meet with us at their office.
She said the company had identified a pattern of unauthorized access involving our service area.
She could not discuss an ongoing investigation by phone.
Gabriel and I arrived at the office before six.
Theresa met us in a plain conference room with Officer Brooks.
They did not stage a dramatic reveal.
Instead Theresa laid out what the utility could establish.
The service interruptions were not ordinary failures.
Several incidents involved deliberate contact with equipment serving our property.
The company had also found that an old maintenance access permission associated with Paula’s address had been misused after it was no longer valid.
That permission did not authorize anyone to affect our supply.
I asked whether this meant Paula had done it.
Officer Brooks answered carefully.
“We have evidence connecting her to unauthorized entry and interference, and we’re pursuing the matter through the proper process.”
He said they had spoken with witnesses who observed her near the service area at relevant times.
Those witnesses had not seen every act.
The investigators would not claim more than they could support.
My hands began to shake beneath the table.
For days I had imagined that proof would bring relief.
Instead I thought about Ellis sleeping upstairs while somebody tampered with the water beneath our ordinary evening routines.
Theresa explained that utility employees had reinforced the secure access and would continue monitoring.
She offered a direct number for future service problems.
We thanked her.
Then Officer Brooks asked whether Paula had attempted to contact Ellis again.
We told him about the school.
His expression changed.
He asked for the counselor’s report and said he would consult with the relevant authorities about potential protective steps.
“Please do not confront her,” he said.
“You have already done the most useful thing by keeping the record clear.”
Driving home, Gabriel gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened.
“I keep thinking about the nights we told Ellis she was safe,” he said.
“She was with us,” I answered.
“We made sure the house was safe as soon as we knew about each problem.”
“I hate that it sounds like a defense.”
“It is a defense,” I said.
“She’s been attacking our ability to care for them.”
We parked outside the house and saw Paula’s curtains glowing across the fence.
I did not look away this time.
Inside, Ellis had left her moth poster on the kitchen table.
The moon was colored yellow, and every moth had found its way to a different flower.
