"So am I. Unfortunately mine are all the same claim."
Puit gave a polite laugh that did not seem spontaneous.
He walked the property quickly. Too quickly, Emily thought. He photographed the exposed foundation, the shelter entrance, the remaining wall section, and the twisted remains of the shop roof scattered across the field. But he spent more time reading old documents on his tablet than looking at the destruction in front of him.
"You had a roof maintenance notation on your renewal three years ago," he said.
Emily frowned. "Every building this age gets maintenance notes. Daniel replaced half that roof before he died. I replaced flashing on the west side last spring."
"Do you have invoices?"
"Daniel did the work himself. I have receipts for materials."
"That can make valuation complicated."
"Complicated how?"
Puit enlarged something on his screen. "Your policy contains a pre-existing structural condition provision. If an existing weakness materially contributed to the extent of the loss, full replacement coverage can be reduced."
Emily stared at the empty sky where her apartment used to be. "A tornado dropped somebody's grain trailer in my field and moved my lift twenty feet. Are you suggesting old flashing caused this?"
"I am not suggesting anything. I am explaining a provision."
"You keep using that sentence."
Puit finally looked at her directly. "Mrs. Carter, I understand you are upset."
"You understand I am standing where my kitchen used to be."
His expression hardened almost imperceptibly. "I will submit my findings. A formal determination can take up to thirty days."
"Thirty days? I live in a hole in the ground."
"There may be temporary housing reimbursement, subject to coverage review."
"Subject to coverage review. Of course."
He made another note.
Then, as if remembering something casual, Puit said, "There are also buyers in the area acquiring storm-damaged commercial parcels. For some owners, a clean sale can be less stressful than rebuilding through a disputed claim."
Emily stopped walking.
"Why are you telling me that?"
"Just making you aware of options."
"Your job is to adjust my insurance claim, right?"
"Correct."
"Then adjust it. I will decide whether to sell my land."
Puit smiled again, but this time Emily saw irritation beneath it. "Of course."
He left twenty minutes later.
Emily watched his sedan disappear and felt a discomfort she could not explain. The man had not openly threatened her. He had not said her claim would be denied. He had simply talked as if denial were the natural weather pattern she should prepare for and selling was the umbrella he happened to mention.
Three days later the bank called.
The commercial property note had been small when Daniel inherited the shop, but a refinance for equipment and electrical upgrades had tied the remaining balance to the land. Emily had missed one payment after the tornado and expected a courtesy call.
Instead a loss-mitigation representative informed her that the bank could grant only a limited disaster grace period without evidence of insurance proceeds or another repayment plan.
"How limited?"
"Sixty days before formal default procedures may begin."
Emily sat on the shelter bench with a legal pad in her lap. "You are telling me I could lose land that has been in Daniel's family for three generations because a tornado took the building securing the loan."
"I am telling you the loan remains secured by the underlying property. We want to work with you."
"Everybody wants to work with me while explaining how quickly they can take everything."
The representative became quiet.
"Mrs. Carter, I am sorry."
Emily closed her eyes. "So am I."
After the call she found the folded paper Hawk had given her. The ink had blurred along one edge from rain, but the number remained readable.
She held the phone for nearly five minutes.