identification number. And the software hold had been applied before the customer received a complete explanation or a documented opportunity to resolve the apparent errors. Those facts were sufficient to strengthen a demand for restoration even without proving a broader financial motive.
Mara contacted the dealership's executive counsel. She summarized the discrepancy and explained that the lender was requesting immediate access to its collateral. She offered to address the disputed invoice through an appropriate process after the combine was restored. The company did not have to waive any legitimate service claim to prevent further harm. It simply had to separate the question of payment from the questionable interruption of harvesting functions.
The response came from a senior executive who had not previously spoken to Hollis. She said the company would conduct an immediate review of the hold authorization. She also confirmed that the individual manager who initiated the restriction had been temporarily removed from authority over the Eberhart account pending that review. There was still no admission of wrongdoing. But the tone had changed. For the first time, somebody within the dealership was willing to consider that the decision might have been made improperly.
Hollis took the call from the cab of Roland's tractor. She could see the disabled combine through a veil of light rain. Mara repeated the executive's statement, then warned her not to assume the machine was free until restoration had been verified safely. "If they authorize it," she said, "the technician will need to follow the approved procedure. No improvising with controllers. No unverified software changes. We want a clear written record of what was done."
Hollis looked at the old gauges. "Dad would agree with that."
"Your father sounds like somebody I'd have enjoyed representing."
"He would have asked if you charged by the hour before saying hello."
Mara laughed. "Then he was wise."
The storm continued to shift across the county in bands. Some fields dried enough for brief periods of safe work; others remained too wet. Wes and Ruth completed a strip along the northeast boundary while Hollis harvested another small section with the picker. At noon, a wind gust brought down several rows near the ditch, and she watched the stalks lie across the dark soil. Her chest hurt at the sight. She had planted those rows in April