“What is it?” Logan asked again, more urgently this time.
Holly looked up at him, her voice shaking. “Victor isn’t the one buying the inn.” She held the contract for him to see. “And Terry just gave us the contact information for a building inspector.”
Logan nearly swerved off the road. “What?”
“Pull over,” Holly said. “You need to see this. There’s a lot more.”
Logan pulled into a parking lot, and Holly handed him the documents. They sat in silence as Logan read through them, his expression growing more shocked with each page.
“This contract was already drawn up more than four months ago,” Logan said. “Look at the date.”
“They’ve been planning for a lot longer than we all knew,” Holly realized.
“But why would Terry give this to you?” Logan asked, looking at Holly. “Is this a trick? Another way to manipulate you?”
Holly read the note again, studying Terry’s handwriting. She thought about the woman she’d once called her best friend. The woman who had betrayed her in the worst possible way.
But she also remembered the Terry from before Simon. The Terry who had cried with Holly when Holly’s father died. The Terry who had brought soup when Holly was sick and picked Trinity up from school when Holly had to work late.
“I don’t think it’s a trick,” Holly said slowly. “I think Terry is trying to make amends. Or at least, I think this deal doesn’t sit well with her. Maybe she didn’t know how dirty Victor and Pamela were playing or just how willing Simon was to go along with it until it was too late for her to back out.”
“So what do we do?” Logan asked.
Holly pulled out her phone. “We get these to Jack and Charlie. I’ll call them and tell them to meet us in the library.”
As Logan pulled back onto the road, heading toward Anastasia Island, Holly dialed Jack’s number.
Whatever Terry’s motivation, whatever game was being played, one thing was clear.
They finally had some insight into what was really going on.
14
JACK
Jack sat at his desk, staring at his mobile phone in disbelief. He was still stunned by the development, and all he could think was that Holly really was his miracle.
He glanced at the call log on his phone. Yup, he’d called the number Terry had provided. And yup, Abe Tanner would be out at the inn bright and early tomorrow morning. The senior building inspector was going to sort out the “misunderstanding” with the lost notification call as well.
Jack had asked why Abe was doing this. Why was he willing to come out on such short notice, right before Christmas?
Abe’s response had been direct and firm. One thing he didn’t abide was corruption and manipulation in his department. Abe had been sent to St. Augustine specifically to clean up the building inspection division for exactly this reason. When a young woman came to his office that morning, claiming shesuspected fraud in property inspections, he started investigating immediately.
Then a call had come in from one of his newer staff members who had concerns about irregularities in filing procedures. Abe was planning to contact Jack the following morning anyway, so he was glad Jack had called first.
Jack shook his head in wonder, then actually pinched himself. Was he dreaming? This couldn’t be real. A few short hours ago, they had been facing complete disaster, and now, suddenly, they had a legitimate inspector coming out to help them.
He got up from his desk and walked out of his office, heading upstairs to check on the work being done in the three rooms. The sound of hammering, sawing, and voices calling to each other filled the second floor.
Jack stepped into Room Nine first. The damaged floorboards had all been replaced. Rupert and two of his crew were on their hands and knees, carefully sanding the new wood to blend seamlessly with the old. The work was meticulous and professional.
“Looking good,” Jack said, and Rupert looked up with a tired but satisfied smile.
“Should have the stain on within the hour,” Rupert said. “Then it needs to dry overnight, but it’ll be ready for inspection tomorrow.”
Jack moved to Room Ten, where Christopher and Logan were installing the new window frames. The oldrotted wood had been completely removed, and the new frames fit perfectly into the openings.
In Room Eleven, Holly was measuring for curtains while Marco supervised two of the kitchen staff who were applying the final coat of paint to the walls.
