"Not much. He said the station had been built to handle more than ordinary drainage. There was an industrial connection farther east, and the city had a separate procedure for inspecting it."
"What kind of industrial connection?"
"I don't know. He never explained it in detail."
"Is your father still alive?"
"No. He died twelve years ago."
Thomas paused.
"But I still have some of his old documents. When he retired, he brought home several boxes of manuals, maintenance logs, and engineering sketches. Most of them are probably irrelevant, but I never threw them away."
Daniel felt the first genuine spark of hope he had experienced that morning.
"Would you be willing to look through them?"
"Of course. I'll start tonight."
"Don't alter anything, and keep the original documents safe."
Thomas chuckled without humor.
"You sound like a lawyer."
"I've been speaking to one too much lately."
They ended the call.
Daniel returned to his desk and examined the county map.
The old pumping station had been built in the late 1970s, when the eastern part of the city contained several light industrial facilities. Over time, the factories had closed, the surrounding land had been redeveloped, and the neighborhood had grown around the old infrastructure.
The pumping station itself had been decommissioned in the early 2000s.
If Thomas's father had worked there, his records might explain what the official files could not.
At 10:47 a.m., Laura called with an update.
"I've reviewed the association's bylaws and the consulting agreement," she said. "The agreement does not authorize the association to enter private property without permission. It also doesn't allow them to impose arbitrary fines in retaliation for refusing a purchase offer."
"Can we challenge the notices?"
"Yes, but I want to obtain the complete association records first. We need to know who approved the agreement, what the members were told, and whether the association received payments that weren't properly disclosed."
"Can you get those records?"
"I've sent a formal request. If they refuse, we'll consider the next step."
Daniel looked toward the plywood-covered window.
"What about Richard?"
"We can pursue the property damage and assault allegations through the appropriate channels. The footage is useful, and the police have already documented the scene. But we should not assume that one incident proves a larger conspiracy."
"I understand."
"There's something else. I found a company registration associated with Westbridge's acquisition subsidiary. One of the directors previously worked for a contractor involved in the pumping station's closure."
Daniel straightened.
"Who?"
"Martin Vale. He was a project engineer for the company that performed the final maintenance work before the station was decommissioned."
"Does he still work for Westbridge?"
"According to the public filings, he serves as a technical consultant."
Daniel felt the pieces moving closer together.
"Could he know what was left underground?"
"Possibly. We don't know whether he worked on the relevant section, but the connection is worth documenting."
Laura paused.
"I've also requested the original municipal closure report. It may take time because the archive records are incomplete."
"How long?"
"I can't promise a date."
Daniel thanked her.
After the call, he searched for Martin Vale.
The results revealed very little. Vale had worked for several engineering firms, published a handful of technical papers, and retired from full-time consulting several years earlier.
One public document caught Daniel's attention.
It was a municipal meeting summary from twenty-three years earlier.
The summary described a discussion about the pumping station's closure and the transfer of maintenance responsibilities. It listed several unresolved issues, including incomplete underground mapping and the need for additional sampling near an industrial connection.
The final paragraph stated that the outstanding work would be completed before the site was transferred.
But the document contained no confirmation that the work had actually been completed.
Daniel printed it.
Then he searched for the contractor responsible for the closure.
The company no longer existed.
Its assets had been sold, its records scattered, and its former offices converted into a commercial warehouse.
He made a note to ask Laura whether any records had been preserved through the municipal contract archive.
At noon, the doorbell rang.
Daniel checked the camera before opening it.
A man in a gray suit stood on the porch, holding a folder.
He was clean-shaven, in his early forties, and carried himself with the relaxed confidence of someone accustomed to entering rooms where people waited for him.
"Mr. Mercer?" he asked.
"Yes."
"My name is Adrian Cole. I'm a property acquisition representative for Westbridge Development Group."
Daniel did not move aside.
"What do you want?"
"I'd like to discuss the company's purchase proposal and clear up a misunderstanding involving the homeowners association."
"Then you can start by explaining why Richard Harlan damaged my window."