“Very soon,” Cindy assured her. “But I do have to let you know about one issue we’re facing here,” Cindy continued, emphasizing the we, as if she and Maja were in this together. “Belltown Mutual has determined that your contractor”—Cindy paused, and Maja heard the sound of typing again—“John Williams, Hearth and Home Builders, Incorporated, may be at fault in this matter.”

“Wait,” Maja said, her heart sinking. “That can’t be right. This wasn’t a construction accident. We were the victims of a crime. The police are saying that it was probably teenagers throwing a party. Vandalism.”

“Oh, I know, terrible,” Cindy commiserated. “Just terrible. But the issue here is the access to the house. The police report indicates that the perpetrators entered the house using a garage door opener that was left out by your contractors. You’ll be getting a call from our legal department, but I can tell you that in these types of cases, there’s usually a sharing of liability among several parties.”

“I don’t understand,” Maja said. This was the first time she’d heard anything about the garage door opener. Had she missed that in the police report? “What happens now?” she asked.

“As I said, you’ll be getting a call from our attorneys. Belltown Mutual will handle any case against Hearth & Home Builders, but we will need your help. Any details that you can remember will be useful.”

An unpleasant thought sprang to mind: Yesterday, when she’d called to check in with Detective Murray, he’d asked her to confirm that she and Ted had bounced their last check to the contractor. This had been news to her, and she’d denied it at the time. Now she made a mental note to check in with Ted about it. “You want me to sue my contractor?” she said aloud. “I just can’t believe that he would be so careless.”

“I know this process can feel overwhelming,” Cindy was saying, “but it’s very common. Your builder carries insurance for just this type of situation. A legal case always sounds scary, but generally these things are worked out in settlements between the insurance carriers. I can’t promise anything, of course, but your builder will know that this isn’t personal.”

Like hell he will, Maja thought. They would have to find someone new to put their broken, half-finished house back together. It was going to be impossible. Who wanted to take on a project like that? The tears she’d been holding back started to spill over. Why was she so emotional? She felt like the shocking fact of strangers violating her home was being lost in all of the bureaucratic red tape.

“Talk to your contractor,” Cindy was saying. “This won’t be the first time he’s dealt with a situation like this. Well, maybe not like this, but with shared insurance liability. He’ll understand.”