“Mr.Barone,” said a female voice.“It’s Michelle Price.How are you today, sir?”
“Okay,” Tom said, having put the phone on speaker.We double-checked that the barn door and the house were locked.“What have you found out for me?”
“Well, I’ve been working with Jake Jimenez, your estates and will attorney.Together, we thought it was a good idea to hire a private investigator to look into Mr.Corcan’s finances a bit.And well … there’s a reason he wants your land.”
“Mm-hmm,” Tom said, obviously not surprised.
“He’s in a significant amount of debt.He invested heavily in a Ponzi scheme.He leveraged all his equity and owesa lotof money.Like the man doesn’t have a pot to piss in.And there are loan sharks after him.How he’s affording the lawyer he has right now …”
“His mother,” Tom said, still unfazed.
“But he couldn’t turn around and sell the land,” I said.“That’s against island law.”
“Uh …” Michelle said.
“This is Danica St.Claire,” Tom said.“She is my …” He glanced at me quickly, a little panic in his eyes.
“A friend,” I finished, giving Tom’s hand a squeeze.
“Agoodfriend,” Tom added.“And she can hear what you have to say.Her cousin is Gabrielle.”
“Ooh,” Michelle said, clearly relieved.“Gotcha.Hi, Danica.”
“Hi.”
“Anyway, even though it isislandlaw that he couldn’t sell it, they very well could haveothermoney-making plans.Put a bunch of prefab homes on it and rent them out.Turn the property into campsites.Or, since you have the full set up for livestock, he could turn it into luxury horse boarding while living on the land himself.I don’t know the intricacies of his plans, but we now know that he’s desperate.”
Tom and I exchanged looks.
“Desperate people are scary,” I said softly.
“Bingo,” Michelle replied.“We’ve already contacted local authorities and are drafting a restraining order.Everything will be done through lawyers.He should not be setting foot on the property.”
“We’ve spoken with islanders, and they don’t want to see Vincentorhis mother, Millicent, get the land or live on the island.Apparently, Millicent is not well-liked,” I added.“We have the islanders behind us.Including the Elders Council.”
“That’s good.That was smart of you guys to rally them to your cause.Testimonials may be needed, depending on how this goes.But as far as Jake and I can tell, Vincent doesn’t really have much of a legal leg to stand on.However, that’s not going to stop him from trying.And I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to do something stupid.So just … be vigilant.”
“Security cameras just arrived,” Tom said.“I will install them today.”
“Good.That’s good.The investigator is going to do some more digging, and we’ll let you know if he finds anything else.You’re okay continuing with that, Mr.Barone?Cost-wise, I mean?”
“Si,” Tom said.“Money is no object.I just want my son’s land and the animals safe.”
“Got it, sir.I’ll be in touch.”
Then she disconnected the call.
Tom’s expression was grim as he faced me, and I was sure mine was similar.Just because Vincent Corcan didn’t have a legal leg to stand on, didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to leverage Tom off the land another way.He’d already threatened to burn the barn down.And now that we knew the man was desperate and without two nickels to rub together, who knew what he’d try.
This time it was my turn to comfort Tom, and I wrapped my arm around his broad back.“We’ll figure it out.Set up the cameras and have faith in the lawyers.You’ve got the island on your side now.And the island takes care of its people.”
He leaned back a little, and I glanced up at him.“I don’t want to let you go,” he said softly, his throat moving on a hard swallow.
What did that mean?
My brows bunched, and I was about to ask what he meant, but he must have seen the confusion on my face, and a small smile curled his lips.“I just mean, I will miss you when I take you home.”
Oh.
