"Thank you, Daniel," Eleanor answered. "And please record that you had to unlock it for us."
That evening she did not bake the apple pie. Instead she cleaned the surviving vegetables, threw away the ruined chicken, and placed the broken carton on a tray until James convinced her that photographs were enough. She wanted a physical reminder of what had happened, but the smell of spilled milk and damaged eggs became unbearable. When she finally washed her hands, the water felt too hot, and she could not stop thinking about Richard wiping his fingers on his trousers.
At nine, Lillian knocked. She handed Eleanor a flash drive and apologized for recording without asking. The file showed most of the confrontation from above. Eleanor watched only the first minute before turning it off. Seeing herself bend in the rain brought back the embarrassment more sharply than the memory did.
"We can use this," James said, accepting the drive. "It shows the entrance, his actions, all of it."
Lillian lowered her eyes. "I should've come down. I heard every word."
"You came now," Eleanor said. "That's something."
"It's not enough."
"Then tell the truth when somebody asks. That will be enough to begin."
The next morning, Richard ordered the building's locks changed. He described the work as a security upgrade, though new keys went to nearly everyone before the contractor arrived. The Washingtons left early for a church breakfast and returned to find their keys no longer worked. A notice taped beside the intercom directed residents to contact building management for updated access credentials, but the Washingtons had received no message.
Eleanor tried the key twice before stepping back. James checked the door frame for a problem with the cylinder. It was new. He recognized the shiny brass housing and the fresh scrape marks around the screws. Their names were on the tenants' list, yet the intercom went unanswered.
They waited forty-five minutes in the cold while Daniel tried to reach Richard. Lillian offered to let them warm up in her apartment through the side entry, but Eleanor refused at first because she thought leaving the doorway might give Richard an excuse to say they had not been there. Eventually her fingers grew numb enough that James insisted. Daniel returned with their keys and an apology that sounded almost painful to deliver.
"He said I was not to warn you," Daniel whispered. "He said you were under review."
"Under review for what?" James asked.
Daniel looked helpless. "I don't know."
Eleanor wrote down the incident after lunch. She asked Daniel to sign a brief statement confirming the date of the lock change and the delayed notification. He was visibly frightened, but he signed. When she thanked him, he held her hand longer than expected and said he was sorry he had not spoken sooner about the renovation noise.