He asked whether I hated his uncle.
I told him I hated what had been done.
I did not know enough about Peter to offer a verdict on his entire life.
Evan stood for a moment with his hands in his jacket pockets.
Then he said Peter used to be the kind of man who repaired broken porch steps for neighbors without charging them.
He had changed after the development project began.
I asked whether Evan knew why.
He shook his head.
He said there were calls at night and arguments about money.
Then he left without entering my house.
I watched him walk down the street and thought about the cost of admitting a family member had done something wrong.
Two days later Tomas confirmed that Evan had provided an original draft of the notice.
The metadata showed when the false statute title first appeared.
That did not prove the wall had been painted by the same person.
It did show the legal language was deliberately changed rather than accidentally misunderstood.
For the first time, the argument about a fictional law had a documented beginning.
The record was stronger because a frightened young man had chosen to tell the truth.
Damage in the Rain
The second major act of vandalism came during a Thursday thunderstorm.
I had gone to Rachel’s apartment to help Lucy with a science project when my motion alert sounded.
The camera showed two figures near the workshop gate, both wearing rain jackets.
A bright flashlight swept across the lens and briefly washed out the image.
One figure pried at the temporary bracing.
The other dragged a length of chain along the driveway.
I did not drive home to confront them.
I called the police and gave dispatch the address and the recorded time.
An officer arrived while the figures were already gone.
The gate had been pulled off its temporary supports.
The chain had scarred the timber and knocked loose one stone from the wall.
Rainwater ran through the exposed corner and washed fresh soil down the driveway.
The officer photographed the damage and advised me not to touch the fallen stone until the scene was documented.
I watched the security footage with her under the porch roof.
We could not identify faces.
One jacket carried a reflective stripe that resembled those on the maintenance crews’ uniforms.
Resemblance was not identification.
The officer requested the original video file and left a report number.
