Chapter 17: The Boy Who Saw the Ladder

A teenager named Isaac Flores knocked on Sunday afternoon.
He was seventeen and lived with his grandmother behind the Prices’ property.
He said his grandmother had told him to speak directly to me rather than post anything online.
Isaac had been walking to an early shift at a grocery store on the morning of the vandalism.
He saw Nolan unload the ladder from a truck parked near the common green.
He also saw Vivian speaking with another man beside a gray SUV.
The man wore a white company jacket and carried a tablet.
Isaac had taken a photograph because the ladder blocked the sidewalk near the school bus stop.
He showed me the picture on his phone.
It captured the SUV’s license plate and a partial company logo.


I recognized Meridian’s blue compass symbol from the federal paperwork.
Isaac said he had not seen anyone give Nolan direct instructions.
He had heard Vivian ask whether the inspector would still come if the roof was damaged.
The man replied that they would have to explain the condition of the site.
Isaac had not understood the conversation until he saw the police cars later that morning.
I called Mara and asked how to preserve his account without turning a teenager into a target.
She arranged for Isaac and his grandmother to speak with investigators through appropriate channels.
I thanked him for coming.
He shrugged with the awkwardness of a boy trying to look older than he felt.
“My grandma says you don’t have to like somebody to tell the truth about what happened,

” he said.
I told him she sounded wise.
“She is,” he replied.
“And she said Nolan owes you a roof.”

Chapter 18: The Second Inspection

On Monday, the utility arrived with an engineer and an independent electrical inspector.
They examined the accessible equipment, reviewed photographs, and coordinated with my installer on a safe repair plan.
The inspectors discovered an unfamiliar communications device mounted near the garage service conduit.
It had been concealed behind a weatherproof cover that matched the brick.
My original installer said the device was not part of his work.
The utility engineer documented it without removing it immediately.
He explained that the equipment required further review to determine who installed it and whether it had ever communicated with another system.
I wanted to rip the cover away myself.
Instead, I stood on the patio and watched professionals preserve the condition of the device.
Later, Ruth called to explain that the device was not an approved component of my residential interconnection.
The utility had isolated the relevant connection during its safety assessment.
The discovery did not prove that anyone had stolen electricity or that a hidden network had functioned.
It did establish that someone had placed unrecorded equipment near my service.
I told Ellie that the professionals had found an extra box that was not supposed to be there.
She asked whether it meant the house was unsafe.
I said we would follow the safety instructions until the review was complete.
She considered that for a moment.
“Can our tomatoes still grow?” she asked.
I looked at the pale green stems in the garden bed.
“Yes,” I said.
“The tomatoes are not involved in this.”
She smiled for the first time that day.