Roy spends a great deal of time trying to track down specific files relating to the construction project, but he has difficulty tracking the files down because they are conveniently misplaced or missing specific pages. Roy's father is eventually able to get the file, and he makes copies of everything. He hands the file copies to Roy and explains that an important piece of information is actually missing from the file.

Roy takes the information to a reporter, and he tells her that the file is missing the Environment Impact Statement. That means Mother Paula's either never had the report done, or they intentionally hid it from public record. It is revealed to readers in the epilogue that the Environmental Impact Statement had indeed been completed, and the biologists absolutely documented the presence of the owls. The file then conveniently disappeared, and Councilman Grandy is suspected of doing that for a bribe.