"She can come look at the toolbox whenever she wants," Sophie said. "It's better in real life than in a picture."
Claire thanked her. The girl returned to her homework, and Evan washed his hands before approaching the workbench. He noticed the envelope but did not ask about it.
"How's she sleeping?" he asked.
"Not well. But she had breakfast this morning without asking if the door was locked, and I think that's progress."
"It sounds like it."
Claire set the folder down. "The police have interviewed several of the drivers. Four say they never recognized the figure near the ditch as a child. One was worried about stopping in floodwater. Another saw something but expected someone else to handle it. They're still trying to reach the sixth."
Evan looked at the photographs. "A wet road is a terrible place to guess what somebody meant."
"I was ready to call all of them cowards. Then I watched the footage again. I could barely see her from the camera's angle." Claire drew a breath. "I still want answers. I just don't want to manufacture them."
"That's usually a good place to start."
She slid the envelope toward him. "This is for what you did."
Inside was a cashier's check. The amount was large enough to cover the garage's overdue rent, the roof, and most of Evan's equipment debt. He stared at it, then put it back inside without unfolding the bottom of the paper.
"I can't take that."
"Why not?"
"Because I called for help and gave a child a dry blanket."
Claire's expression tightened. "You lost a night of work and put yourself at risk. You kept a stranger from taking her. That's worth something."
"It was worth doing." Evan pushed the envelope across the bench. "That's not the same as saying I want to sell it."
"Do not make me feel better by refusing something your business plainly needs."
"And don't make me sell you the right to feel grateful."
The words settled between them. Claire looked away toward the roof seam, where a pale line of rust ran down the wall. Sophie stopped writing in the office, and Evan knew she was listening.
"I didn't mean to buy anything," Claire said after a moment.
"I know. But this is still Mia's worst night. I don't want to build my garage around it."
Claire folded the envelope carefully and put it back in her bag. "Then help me understand what you would accept."
Evan had been thinking about the highway since sunrise. He took a service-map book from the tool cabinet and opened it to Route 31. The old mill, bridge, creek, junction, and access road appeared in small black type.
"That ditch is a blind spot from a normal car," he said. "The mile marker before it is hard to read. The next safe pullout is nearly a mile away, and the bridge closure makes emergency response slow."
"The county owns the road."
"Your company makes vehicle safety equipment."