Chapter 19: The Wrong Address
A second property owner contacted Bellamy after receiving a letter from Cedar Gate.
Her name was Helen Navarro, and she lived three streets away in a small house with a steep roof.
She had recently suffered an injury that limited her mobility.
Someone had told the buyer she was desperate to move, although she had no intention of selling.
Helen did not know Brenda and had never met Darren.
This detail troubled Walter because it suggested the property offers could be part of a broader practice rather than a plan designed only for him.
Bellamy asked Helen whether she wanted independent legal advice before sharing documents.
Helen agreed and returned later with her own lawyer.
The letters resembled Walter’s offers in tone and unusually short deadlines.
The two owners compared them without assuming the same individual had supplied their information.
Helen’s contact listed a different referral name.
Walter felt almost disappointed because he had hoped for a straightforward link to Brenda.
Bellamy reminded him that real investigations rarely followed the simple path people expected.
Some activities were ordinary aggressive marketing.
Others could become misconduct when they relied on deception or coercion.
Determining the difference required specific evidence.
Helen said she had felt ashamed after hearing a caller describe her home as a burden she could no longer manage.
Walter understood the insult beneath the sales language.
He told her that needing a handrail did not mean needing somebody else to choose her future.
Helen smiled and asked whether he knew a good carpenter.
Walter gave her Harold’s number with his permission.
Their conversation ended with an ordinary repair recommendation.
Walter appreciated the change of subject.
It reminded him that the neighborhood was full of people with lives more complicated than the labels attached to them.
Chapter 20: The Day of the Interview
Detective Price arranged a second interview after collecting statements from Naomi, Mrs. Henderson, and Caleb Morris.
Walter arrived with Bellamy and a list of questions.
He wanted to know whether Darren’s conduct was being evaluated separately from Brenda’s false emergency report.
Price explained that the investigators were documenting each person’s actions independently.
She would not promise any particular charge because prosecutorial decisions required a complete review.
Walter asked whether he could see the emergency call recording.
Price said some materials might later become available through the appropriate process, but the investigation was still active.
She told him the relevant timing had been preserved.
Darren’s presence in the neighborhood before Brenda’s call was now supported by several accounts.
His claim that he had been summoned as an authorized responder did not match the evidence collected so far.
Walter asked whether officers had discovered why Darren was filming.
Price said she could not discuss the contents of devices under review.
She did explain that someone had attempted to circulate a selectively edited video.
The department was comparing the available original material with the version posted online.
Walter thought about the silence that followed Darren’s first command.
He remembered how the camera might have framed him as threatening if he had raised his hands too quickly.
Price asked whether he wanted to provide a statement about the emotional impact.
Walter did not enjoy describing fear to a stranger.
He nevertheless explained that Naomi had stopped sleeping with her curtains open and that he had begun checking the driveway before mowing.
He also said he no longer trusted every official-looking vest he saw.
Price listened without minimizing the effect.
When the meeting ended, Walter shook her hand and walked outside with Bellamy.
He had not received a dramatic revelation.
He had received confirmation that the ordinary details were being taken seriously.
That was enough for the afternoon.
