"That's possible in principle. The question is whether that alone explains the pressure changes and the sinking ground."
She looked toward Claire.
"The technical investigation is examining those mechanisms."
Then she paused.
"I don't want anybody to lose a legitimate job because somebody guessed wrong about a pond."
The room became quiet.
Naomi continued.
"But I don't want a family to lose its farm because somebody ignored measurements that were trying to warn us."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she stepped away.
Dale stood near the back beside Otis and Emmett.
He removed his cowboy hat.
Then began applauding.
The other two men joined him.
Soon several more people were clapping.
Naomi looked toward them.
For a moment, she remembered the rope.
The laughter.
And Otis insisting there was nothing beneath the water but mud.
She smiled faintly.
The three men smiled back.
The strongest testimony came from Benjamin.
He stood slowly.
His hands trembled slightly as he adjusted the microphone.
Then he held up the old photograph showing Ruthie beside the original gate.
He explained the Crescent Branch project in plain language.
He described why the county built the structures, what went wrong during the 1988 incident, and how the system was supposed to be retired.
Then he became quiet.
For a moment, he looked toward Naomi.
"I was one of the engineers who worked on that retirement."
The room remained still.
Benjamin continued.
"At the time, I believed the isolation work was sufficient."
He swallowed.
"Maybe it was, for the conditions we expected then."
For several seconds, he paused.
Then looked toward the audience.
"But I should have insisted that future landowners receive better information about what remained underground."
His eyes filled.
"Ruthie Vance knew that."
He held up her notebook.
"She kept measuring because she understood that abandoning a structure doesn't mean it disappears."
The room was silent.
Then Benjamin said something Naomi would remember for years.
"Her granddaughter didn't discover this problem because she was lucky. She noticed it because she was paying attention."
Naomi lowered her head.
Tears filled her eyes.
Benjamin continued.
"And when experienced men laughed at her, she kept checking."
For a moment, Dale stared toward the floor.
Otis shifted uncomfortably.
Then the retired engineer finished.
"We owe this family a serious answer, based on evidence, about what happened beneath their land."
The applause that followed was quiet at first.