She glanced at the damaged door. "Who cut the lock?"
I identified the contractor and showed her the recording from Wednesday morning. She watched several seconds, asked me to preserve the original file, and wrote down its storage location. Then she told me investigators would need the complete video, not just the clip that proved my favorite point. I understood what she meant; a truthful record is strongest when it does not depend on careful editing.
The detective who had called me earlier in the week arrived while Brennan was still inspecting the site. He spoke privately with the deputies, reviewed the safety order, and came to ask whether I would provide a statement about the forced entry and bypass operation. I told him I would, with counsel present if a formal recorded interview was needed. He thanked me and asked whether I had altered the equipment after the unauthorized restart.
"No," I answered. "I documented it, reported it, and kept warning residents. I did not touch that pump."
He looked at the cut padlock. "Did you ever consent to the contractors entering?"
"No. They were told that before the lock was cut."
He wrote that down. When I asked whether I was still under investigation for interrupting utility service, he said the original complaint had not vanished, but that the evidence was being assessed in light of the water safety findings. His answer was careful. I appreciated that more than a promise he could not legally make.
A county emergency-management coordinator began organizing temporary water distribution from a location residents could reach safely. Volunteers from nearby fire departments helped identify people who could not carry heavy cases. The school district arranged additional bottled water for children living in Cedar Hollow, and the health authority posted the advisory prominently on its website. For the first time, Ruth and I were not the only people trying to get water to the families.
Ruth arrived with a final load of bottles just as the county team established its distribution point. She looked at the temporary pallets and the volunteers, then at me. "Does this mean you can stop buying water for everybody?" she asked. I nodded. She took a long breath, and I realized how much of our money she had been spending without ever letting me hear the worry in her voice.
Paul Whitaker crossed the gravel while we spoke. He told Brennan that his daughter had used bottled water the entire time because of my warnings. Then he turned to me and asked whether he could help move cases for residents without trucks. Ruth handed him a pair of work gloves. Neither of us mentioned the handprint on my pickup.
At one o'clock, we went to the emergency hearing. I changed into a clean shirt in the courthouse restroom and tried to scrub the dirt from the creases of my knuckles. The association's lawyer was already seated when I entered, and Diane sat beside him with the same clear folder she had carried to the tower. Her face had been carefully composed again, but the papers were no longer arranged as neatly as before.