“Who authorized the early move?” she asked.

Owen said the client had requested efficiency.

“Which client?”

He named a supervisor who was away on leave.

Priya wrote it down. “And who confirmed that the route was clear?”

Owen pointed at a checklist. “My team.”

Mara stepped forward. “Your team removed the barricade at the east gate.”

“Because it was obstructing the test.”

“The barricade was part of the test controls.”

Priya looked up. “Show me.”

Mara unfolded the diagram Doreen had read. The page was stained with grass and a small spot of blood from a scratch on Doreen’s thumb. Mara laid it across the hood of Priya’s car.

“Here is the gate. Here is the rear steering envelope. The platform can occupy this entire shaded area even when the tractor is clear.”

Priya studied the drawing. “Was this included in the approved plan?”

“Yes.”

“Then why was it removed?”

Owen began to answer, but Mara interrupted. “Ask the person who did it.”

The worker with the radio came forward. His name was Jamal Reed. He looked exhausted and frightened of losing his job.

“We were told the barrier had to come down for clearance,” he said.

“By whom?” Priya asked.

Jamal looked at Owen.

Owen’s face flushed. “I gave a standard instruction to prepare the route.”

“Did you give a replacement protection plan?”

“We had spotters.”

“One spotter,” Jamal corrected quietly. “The other one was sent to the loading bay.”

For several seconds no one spoke.

Priya closed her notebook. “All movement is suspended until an independent safety review. The machine stays where it is.”

Owen protested. “That will cost the project thousands.”

“A child standing in the wrong place would cost more than that,” she replied.

She turned to Mara. “Will you assist the reviewer?”

Mara looked at Owen. “If I’m allowed to do the job I was hired to do.”

“You are,” Priya said.

Doreen expected relief to wash over her. Instead she felt a new kind of dread. The children had been rescued, the machine stopped, and the contractor challenged. But the Blue Trail was still blocked. Founders’ Day was three days away. The neighborhood would be furious, and Doreen was the one who had urged everyone to fight.

When Priya left, Doreen approached Mara by the fence.

“I’ll pay for the window,” she said.

Mara looked at her scratched hands. “We’ll talk about that.”

“I want to help with the trail.”

“Then start by telling everyone the truth.”

Doreen nodded. She knew the truth would be harder to carry than the pickaxe.

8. A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE WHO HAD HEARD ONLY HALF

The emergency neighborhood meeting began at six in the basement of St. Agnes Church. By half past six, every folding chair was occupied. Parents stood along the walls. Teenagers sat on the floor. Someone had brought cookies, but nobody touched them.