That afternoon, Carol knocked on Rachel’s back door.
Her eyes were red, and she carried a paper bag full of unopened mail.
“I need to speak to you privately,” she said.
“You can speak from there.”
Carol glanced at the street.
“People are spreading rumors.”
“People are comparing their water problems.”
“This has gotten out of hand.”
Rachel folded her arms.
“Then explain why you hit my pipe.”
Carol pressed the paper bag against her coat.
“I thought the tube was going to be removed today.”
Rachel felt her pulse quicken.
“So you knew it was inside.”
“I knew there was a test,
” Carol said.
“They called it a reversible flow insert.”
“Did you give them permission to put it in my house?”
“I didn’t think permission was necessary if the city was involved.”
“The city wasn’t involved in that part.”
Carol swallowed.
“Graham said the testing had already been cleared.”
“What made you suddenly want the insert removed?”
Carol looked down at the crushed paper bag.
“The apprentice came to me on Tuesday,” she said.
“He said there were more than four houses.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did you do with that information?”
Carol looked toward the broken trench.
“I called Graham,
and he said the pieces would be taken out before an inspection.”
Rachel understood.
“You weren’t trying to stop a leak.”
Carol said nothing.
“You broke my line so the inspector would find the device and blame someone else.”
“No,” Carol said quickly.
“I was trying to get it out before something worse happened.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me it was there?”
Carol’s answer was nearly inaudible.
“Because I was the one who introduced them to the street.”
CHAPTER FIVE — WHAT THE APPRENTICE SAW
Rachel did not invite Carol inside.
She asked her to place the paper bag on the ground and tell her everything without editing the parts that made her look bad.
Carol said Graham had recruited her at a neighborhood association lunch in April.
He told her the city wanted a small group of older homes for a demonstration involving water efficiency.
Carol liked being asked to organize things, especially after she had retired from a career managing school attendance records.
Graham offered her a volunteer coordinator title and promised her name would appear on the pilot’s final presentation.
“He said we would help families save money,” she said.
“He said the houses would perform just as well as before.”
Rachel watched her carefully.
“When did he tell you the devices were going inside private lines?”
“After the first inspection.
”
“And you didn’t ask the owners?”
“I thought the forms covered it.”
“What forms?”
Carol looked uncomfortable.
“He had a list of addresses with boxes beside them.”
Rachel stared at her.
“Did you check boxes for people who said no?”
“I told them everybody understood what the program was.”
“That’s different from having their consent.”
Carol rubbed her palm with one thumb.
“I thought they would thank us when their bills dropped.”
“Did any bills drop?”
Carol shook her head.
“The meter readings barely changed.”
Rachel felt anger rising again.
“Then you kept telling people the program worked while their plumbing failed.
”
Carol opened her mouth and closed it.
Rachel asked whether Graham paid her.
“No,” Carol replied.
“He gave me grocery vouchers for the neighborhood volunteers.”
“How many?”
“Four hundred dollars’ worth, spread over two months.”
“Did you keep them?”
“I used some.”
Rachel looked toward June’s house.
“June paid for a plumber because of your volunteer project.”
Carol’s eyes filled.
“I never wanted that.”
“But she paid anyway.”
Rachel called Lena from the porch and asked her to arrange a formal interview with Carol that afternoon.
Carol agreed to attend.
As Rachel watched her leave, she realized an apology would be the easiest thing Carol could offer.
The hard part would be finding every affected house before another resident paid for damage a stranger had created.
