Adrian looked down at them.
“MV,” he said.
Ms.
Vale folded her arms.
“Those initials indicate managerial review.”
“No,” Nia said.
“You told us to close anything older than thirty days before the regional audit.”
Ms.
Vale’s face changed.
The polished confidence did not disappear all at once.
It cracked at the edges.
“Be very careful,” she told Nia.
Nia swallowed.
“I have been careful.
That is why I made copies.”
The elevator doors opened behind her.
A silver-haired man stepped out wearing a dark coat embroidered with the Crossfield Residential logo.
Two people followed him: a woman carrying a laptop case and a broad-shouldered maintenance supervisor I knew as Ramon.
The silver-haired man entered my apartment, saw Adrian, and stopped.
“Adrian Cole.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Mr.
Hale.”
I looked between them.
Mr.
Hale introduced himself as Crossfield’s regional vice president.
He said the city’s emergency notification had automatically gone to the company’s compliance office.
Then he looked at the burned connector in Inspector Monroe’s hand.
“Nobody leaves until I see the original logs.”
Ms.
Vale immediately moved beside him.
“Thank God you’re here.
This intruder has staged an incident and frightened a tenant.”
Mr.
Hale did not look at her.
“Adrian, were you inside this unit with permission?”
“Yes.”
“Did you photograph the condition before touching it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you alter the wiring?”
“I de-energized the circuit, removed the failed connector, isolated the conductors, and closed the box.
Nothing else.”
The fire captain inspected Adrian’s work and nodded once.
“Temporary isolation is correct.
The circuit stays off until the branch is replaced.”
Ms.
Vale pointed at Adrian’s brace.
“You cannot seriously be accepting the word of someone who has been living outside.”
Mr.
Hale finally turned toward her.
“His housing status does not change his license.”
Adrian’s expression remained controlled, but his hand tightened around the back of a chair.
Mr.
Hale noticed.
“I did not know what happened to you after the hearing,” he said.
