“One of the deposits appears to have come from a company connected to the developer buying the land next door.”

“Blackstone Orchard?”

“Yes.

It was described as a sponsorship.

We don’t yet know what conditions came with it.”

I pictured the birch trees beside Walter’s pasture.

The project, the money, the easement—maybe the parts of the story had touched each other long before I received the summons.

Mara refused to build a theory without documentation.