CHAPTER NINE — THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE FRAME
Before Elena and Nora left the convention center, a woman in a red scarf approached them and asked if they could talk somewhere quieter. She introduced herself as Adele Rowan, a regional property manager who had attended the original keynote expecting to purchase neighborhood assessment services for several apartment complexes. There was no hostility in her voice, but there was a directness that made Elena cautious.
“I need to tell you something uncomfortable,” Adele said. “When I saw the promotional photographs, I thought they were useful. I saw two people angry about a boundary and assumed the program could teach me how to predict conflicts. It didn’t occur to me to ask whether those people had been told they were part of it.”
“Why not?” Elena asked.
“Because I was looking for an answer to a problem at work. I wanted a dashboard that would sort people into categories so we could assign the right resources.”
Nora touched the edge of her green jacket. “What category would I be?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem. I thought the number would tell me.”
Adele explained that her company had received a sample presentation weeks earlier. It included brief excerpts from several neighborhood encounters. The names had been removed, but the addresses and faces were recognizable to anyone familiar with the streets. One clip showed Anthony waiting beside a front door while a man asked whether he needed water. The caption described the exchange as an example of escalating pressure, even though the visible behavior was gentle. Adele had noticed the mismatch but assumed the analyst possessed additional context.
“Did you buy the product?” Elena asked.
“No. We were still evaluating it. I can ask my team to stop circulating the sample and preserve what we received for a proper review. But I cannot promise what the vendor sent to other clients.”
“Then don’t promise,” Nora answered. “Tell us what you can do.”
Adele nodded. She wrote down the steps she could take and gave each woman a business card. Elena asked her not to send them the footage without checking appropriate procedures. Their conversation attracted no audience, but it was more useful than the sharp exchange with Simon. Here was someone admitting why the product had appealed to her, and how ordinary professional convenience could make another person’s humiliation look like an acceptable input.
At the resource center that evening, Imani assembled those participants who had asked to be informed about developments. She began by saying that the conference had suspended the presentation and that inquiries into the vendor’s practices were ongoing. She did not claim the problem had been solved. Gloria asked whether her image appeared in any promotional materials. Anthony asked how he could request the removal of his. Ethel wanted to know whether a purchaser could keep using a clip after a participant withdrew permission.
