CHAPTER EIGHTEEN B: THE MAN IN PURCHASING
Peter Vale worked in a municipal office above a public parking garage.
He agreed to meet Elliot and his advocate only after receiving a written request describing the specific equipment at issue.
Mara attended as an observer.
Peter greeted them with the expression of a man expecting an argument he had already practiced.
“The platform was rented,” he said before anyone sat down.
“We didn’t own it.”
Elliot placed his cane against the table.
“Who collected it after I fell?”
Peter opened a folder containing the event’s equipment inventory.
“The rental supplier collected all temporary structures.”
“Why did you sign the pickup form instead of the building supervisor?”
Peter blinked.
“Because I was responsible for procurement.”
“Were you present at the pickup?” Elliot asked.
“I authorized it.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Peter looked toward the advocate.
“Are you accusing me of something?”
“I’m asking where the platform went,” Elliot replied.
The advocate requested the supplier’s name and the disposal authorization.
Peter slid a sheet across the table.
The document listed six folding platforms, twelve chairs, two speakers, and one demonstration table.
It did not list the damaged support separately.
Mara noticed a handwritten notation beside the return date.
The notation read HOLD FOR DISPLAY.
“Who wrote that?” she asked.
Peter turned the paper toward himself.
“I don’t know.”
“Does it mean the damaged platform wasn’t returned?”
“It could mean any number of things.”
Elliot leaned forward.
“It means somebody thought that platform was useful after it hurt me.”
Peter shut the folder.
“I can’t interpret handwriting from a year ago.
”
The advocate asked for a copy of the inventory and the supplier contact.
Peter agreed to provide both through the city records office.
Outside, Elliot stood beneath the parking garage awning while traffic passed in the rain.
“He knows more than he said,” Elliot muttered.
Mara watched Peter’s office window.
“Maybe,” she said.
“But we need to find out what he actually knows.”
Elliot turned toward her.
“You sound like my advocate.”
“I learned what happens when someone makes a whole story from half a picture.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN C: A DIFFERENT KIND OF CONTRACT
The rental supplier occupied a warehouse beside a printing company.
Its manager, Nora Finch, had never heard Elliot’s name.
She remembered the recreation center job because her crew had refused to unload the damaged platform at their warehouse.
“It wasn’t ours,” she said.
Elliot looked confused.
“The city told me the supplier owned everything.”
Nora pulled up a delivery schedule on her office computer.
“We supplied the chairs and the riser skirts.”
“Who supplied the platform?” Mara asked.
“A separate company brought it in after we finished setting up.”
Nora showed them a photograph taken during the original delivery.
A white box truck was parked beside the recreation center loading entrance.
Its side carried no company name.
The rear doors were open, revealing a stack of folding panels.
Elliot pointed to a yellow strap visible beside the truck.
“That’s the strap we used to keep the platform legs from opening during transport.”
Nora studied the image.
“The crew told me those people wouldn’t let them touch the platform.”
She remembered one more detail.
“They arrived with an event credential printed by TrueStep.”
Mara asked whether Nora would share the image with the official review.
“I’ll share it with whoever needs to understand why my company got blamed,” Nora answered.
She copied the photograph to a secure transfer requested by the advocate.
Elliot stayed silent until they reached the parking lot.
“They called it my assembly mistake,” he said.
“But their people brought the platform in already assembled.”
Mara stopped beside the car.
“You said you checked one support before the ceremony.”
“I did.”
“Then somebody gave you responsibility for equipment you weren’t allowed to control.”
Elliot nodded slowly.
“That’s exactly what happened.”
