Kora looked at the inspector, then beyond him to the fourth vehicle turning into the drive. Genevieve Harrington stepped out in another immaculate coat. She had brought no feed, no veterinary records, and no apology. This time she had brought a reporter.
Genevieve stopped beside the gate as if the place belonged to her. The reporter, Sarah Whitcomb from a regional agricultural newspaper, lifted a camera while the company president talked about the danger of moving unverified breeding stock into small operations without appropriate safeguards. Kora watched her use the word danger three times before she had looked at a bird. The inspector, a quiet man named Owen Price, asked everyone to step back so he could explain the scope of the visit.
"We have a complaint that certain birds here may have been exposed to a reportable poultry disease," he said. "That does not mean we have a confirmed outbreak. Until testing is complete, however, the flock cannot be sold or moved off the property under the temporary order."
"I've kept them isolated since the day I got the eggs," Kora answered. "I have veterinary records and hatch logs."
"I'd like to see all of it."
Genevieve interjected that Harrington had long warned about the problems caused by scavenged biological materials. Owen did not look at her. He asked Kora whether Dr. Leah Carver would be available to review the birds with him, and Kora said Leah was already on her way. She led him to the barn through the designated clean access route, supplying protective gear and asking him to follow the posted procedures.
Inside, the poults were noisy, alert, and increasingly difficult to count without using their identification groups. Owen examined the bedding, water systems, feeding arrangements, and quarantine boundaries, taking notes with the practiced attention of a man who had seen both excellent farms and disastrous ones. He did not praise her in front of the reporter. He asked specific questions and expected specific answers, which Kora considered a kind of respect.
Leah arrived and provided the available laboratory reports. There were no clinical signs of the disease named in the complaint, but she supported additional testing because the flock's origin justified caution. Kora was relieved by that response even though it meant the hold would remain. She did not want a friend telling officials what she wanted to hear. She wanted the truth established by people whose work could stand on its own.
Genevieve remained by the gate speaking with Sarah Whitcomb. When Kora stepped outside, she heard her describing the farm as unsuitable for sensitive research stock and suggesting that the rescue had been an irresponsible attempt to profit from corporate property. Kora wanted to march across the yard and ask the reporter whether she had seen the six hundred living birds, the clean water, and the veterinary files. Instead, she asked Owen when the sampling results might be available and whether there was a formal way to challenge unnecessary delays.