"I don't remember exactly. Something involving the old quarry and a spring line."
Naomi stared.
"Quarry?"
He nodded.
"North of the ridge. Been abandoned most of my life."
For a moment, she pictured the old concrete culvert head beside the pond.
Then asked whether Dale knew who operated the project.
He shrugged.
"County engineers, maybe. Some water district."
Naomi opened her notebook.
"Do you remember a name?"
Dale thought.
Then said, "My father called it the Crescent Branch Works."
The words meant nothing to her.
But Dale wasn't finished.
He looked toward the children.
Then lowered his voice.
"Your grandmother had trouble with people over that water once."
Naomi stared.
"What kind of trouble?"
Dale hesitated.
Finally, he answered.
"Enough that she made everybody promise to stay away from the pond."
After Dale left, Naomi searched the farmhouse.
Ruthie had been a careful record keeper.
She stored tax receipts in labeled envelopes, family photographs in cardboard boxes, and old documents in a metal filing cabinet near the kitchen.
Naomi had already examined most of the property paperwork when she moved in.
But she'd never specifically searched for information about the pond.
Now she began opening folders.
Property taxes.
Insurance.
Well maintenance.
Old farm equipment receipts.
Then a folder marked Water and Drainage.
Inside were letters dating back several decades.
Some concerned routine irrigation.
Others referenced stormwater maintenance and spring measurements.
Near the bottom was a faded county document from 1966.
Its title caught Naomi's attention.
Crescent Branch Agricultural Waterworks — Southern Relief Structure.
She unfolded the paper.
It described a water-control system associated with agricultural drainage and groundwater relief near an abandoned limestone excavation.
The terminology was technical.
But Naomi recognized enough to understand the general purpose.
The county had once maintained a network of conduits intended to manage water moving through the lowland.
Some transported excess water.
Others helped prevent flooding during periods of high groundwater.
One document referenced a submerged control chamber located near the Vance pond.
Naomi stopped reading.
For a moment, she stared toward the dark window.
The children were upstairs asleep.
Outside, the farm was quiet.
Then she looked back at the page.
A handwritten note appeared near the bottom.
It was Ruthie's handwriting.
Never trust the old gate when pressure changes.
Naomi felt cold.
She turned the page.
A faded drawing showed a large underground pipe connected to a chamber beneath the northeastern side of the pond.