Mercer looked toward the hallway where Maya was being held. "She was right."
Boone's expression changed. "About what?"
"You are going to put this on me."
"I am trying to keep both of us out of a federal case."
"No. You are trying to keep your name off the paperwork."
Boone stood. "You want advice? Stop talking, follow instructions, and let me manage this."
Mercer picked up the draft report. "No."
Boone stared at him.
"I want my own copy."
"You do not need one."
"That is exactly why I want one."
Mercer folded the pages and put them inside his jacket before Boone could stop him.
At her home, Ruth Walker was reading a letter that had arrived by hand less than an hour earlier. The envelope carried the name of a local law office. The letter warned that public distribution of incomplete footage could interfere with an active investigation and expose her to legal claims if the material was presented without context.
Ruth read it twice. Then she called Laura Chen.
"I got something from a lawyer."
"What does it say?"
Ruth read the main paragraph aloud.
Laura asked, "Does it order you to do anything?"
"No. It says I should preserve the video and avoid distributing it."
"That part is reasonable. Anything else?"
"They keep using the word 'misleading.'"
"Did they identify who hired them?"
Ruth checked the bottom of the page. "No."
"Keep the letter. Keep the envelope. Do not respond yet."
Ruth sat down at the kitchen table. "They know I have the video."
"Yes."
"They want me scared enough to stop talking."
Laura paused. "Does the letter change what you saw?"
"No."
"Then stay with what you know."
Ruth looked at the notebook where she had written the sequence from the roadside. "I'm not changing anything."
After the call, Laura added the letter to the growing timeline. Pressure on Ruth meant someone in Ashford was actively trying to control witnesses. That made Noah Alvarez more important.