Claire nodded.
"If the necessary records can be obtained and verified."
For a moment, Naomi felt hopeful.
Not because she'd proved the quarry caused the problem.
But because the investigation now had a testable hypothesis.
A connection between industrial water movement and abnormal pressure in the retired Crescent Branch system.
It was a question the company would need to answer with evidence.
Ridgeline's second letter arrived the following week.
This one came from an attorney.
It disputed any suggestion that the company's operations had caused damage to the Vance property.
The letter stated that Ridgeline complied with its applicable permits and maintained appropriate water-management systems.
It also expressed concern about unsupported allegations that might damage the company's reputation.
Naomi read it twice.
Then called Claire.
The engineer listened.
She advised Naomi to avoid making claims beyond the evidence and to let the qualified investigation establish the technical facts.
Naomi agreed.
She hadn't publicly accused the company of wrongdoing.
She'd simply requested records and reported a potentially dangerous condition.
But the letter still frightened her.
Ridgeline was a large operation.
It had lawyers.
Engineers.
And money.
Naomi had two children, a leaking roof, and a checking account that became painfully small every time the well pump needed repair.
For a moment, she considered accepting the purchase offer.
One hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars wouldn't make her wealthy.
But it might allow her to move somewhere safer.
She could rent a modest house.
Find another job.
And stop worrying about the ground beneath her property.
Then she looked toward the kitchen bench.
The hidden document box sat on the table.
Ruthie's letter lay beside it.
Naomi felt tears rising.
She didn't want to fight a large company.
She didn't want to become the woman everyone in town discussed.
She simply wanted a safe home for Malik and Zuri.
But she couldn't sell the property without understanding whether the pond represented a danger to the next family.
And if the old conduit affected other farms, the problem wouldn't disappear merely because she signed a deed.
So she placed the purchase proposal back in its folder.
Then opened her notebook.
Naomi began comparing the timing of the pond's disturbances with activity visible or documented around the quarry.
She didn't enter the site.
She didn't tamper with equipment.