Richard moved toward him. Marianne stepped into the aisle, not touching her husband but making it impossible for him to reach the microphone without passing her.
Trent looked at Joseph.
“I’m sorry about your daughter, too. I saw how scared she was. I should’ve stopped before she ever had to see any of that.”
Joseph nodded once.
It wasn’t forgiveness. It was an acknowledgment that an apology had been offered and heard.
Alan brought the meeting to a close. Andrea waited until the crowd thinned before speaking to Joseph.
“That wasn’t a hearing anyone expected,” she said.
“No.”
“The township is taking a second look at the drainage paperwork. The board has retained independent counsel. We have a long way to go before any legal claims are resolved.”
Joseph glanced toward the exit. Trent was standing with Marianne, looking exhausted. Richard had left through another door.
“I know,” Joseph said.
Andrea smiled a little.
“You understand you didn’t win anything tonight, right?”
“I got people to read the documents.”
“That counts.”
Outside, the night air was cool. Joseph stood on the school steps and called Khloe.
“How’d it go?” she asked immediately.
“People saw the full video.”
“Did they believe you?”
“Some did. The board wants more information before making decisions.”
“Did Trent get in trouble?”
“He admitted what he did. What happens next is for the people responsible to decide.”
She was quiet.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“Are we still staying in our house?”
Joseph closed his eyes.
“Yes,” he said. “We are.”
This time he could say it without feeling he had promised something beyond his control.
Chapter Fourteen: What the Water Remembered
The first independent engineering report arrived three weeks later.
It was neither dramatic nor friendly. It didn’t accuse anyone of corruption, and it didn’t predict that Oak Creek would be destroyed by a single storm. It did something more useful.
It showed the calculations.
The proposed access-road design would reduce the capacity of one portion of the stormwater route during a heavy rainfall event. Because the neighborhood already experienced water backing up in the older culvert, the engineer recommended rejecting the proposed modification until the developer presented an alternative design and verified the existing drainage conditions.
