He nodded once and went to the door.
She gathered the plans into a stack with more care than they strictly needed, smoothing the edges, aligning the corners, giving her hands something to do that wasn't trembling.Then she followed him, stopping just inside the living room where she could see the entryway without crowding it.
Diaz stepped in a moment later, and Sabrina felt something in her chest loosen slightly at the sight of the sergeant in civilian clothes instead of her uniform.Dark jeans worn soft at the knees.Sturdy boots that had seen actual use.A Copper Moon Police Department hoodie with the sleeves shoved up to her elbows, the fabric faded enough to suggest it had been through dozens of wash cycles.Her hair was pulled back in a low knot at the base of her skull, exposing the lines of fatigue at the corners of her eyes that makeup couldn't quite hide.
This wasn't an official visit, then.This was Diaz on her own time, which somehow made it feel both better and worse.
The sergeant glanced around once, taking in the space with that quick, cataloging look Sabrina had come to recognize.The worn leather couch.The stack of motorcycle magazines on the coffee table.The boots lined up by the door."Nice place."
"Came with a coffee addiction and a lumberyard's worth of sawdust," Colby said."Can I get you a cup?"
"Please," Diaz said.She looked at Sabrina, her expression shifting into something more serious."Are you okay if we talk here?I can do this at the station if you'd prefer something more formal."
Sabrina's fingers tightened on the rolled plans."I'd rather hear whatever you have to say in my own kitchen than in an interrogation room, if it's all the same to you."
Diaz's mouth tipped at the corner."That's fair.And this isn't an interrogation.This is me sharing some things I found that I thought you deserved to know."She nodded toward the kitchen table."Mind if we sit?"
They gathered around the small table, the three of them arranging themselves in a configuration that felt oddly formal for such a casual space.Colby set a mug of coffee in front of Diaz, then slid one to Sabrina before taking his own chair, angled so he could see both of them and the front door at the same time.Old habits, she suspected.The kind you picked up from years of entering unstable situations.
Sabrina flattened her palms on the table, pressing them against the cool wood."You said you had an update."
"I do," Diaz said.She wrapped her hands around the mug without drinking, letting the warmth seep into her fingers."I spent some time with our favorite county records system last night.Property transfers, corporate filings, that sort of thing.And I made a couple of calls, I didn't exactly advertise to my boss."
Sabrina's stomach dipped."That sounds ominous."
"It's productive," Diaz said."Annoying as hell, but productive."She exhaled slowly, as if she were organizing her thoughts."You remember when you got that offer to sell Norman House?The one that came out of nowhere about six months back?"
"Yes," Sabrina said slowly, her mind already racing ahead."The investment firm Kara mentioned.Seaside something."
"And you refused," Diaz said.
"I refused twice."Sabrina's throat tightened around the words."They came back a second time with a higher number, like they thought I just hadn't understood how much money was on the table.They wanted to 'unlock the potential of the shoreline' and 'elevate Copper Moon's tourism profile' by tearing down my home and putting up something with better revenue margins."
Colby's fingers wrapped around his mug a little tighter, his knuckles going pale.
Diaz nodded."Right.So.The name of that investment firm is Seaside Development Partners."
Sabrina's pulse ticked up a notch."Okay."
"They don't technically exist," Diaz said."Not as a stand-alone company with employees and an office you could visit.What they are is a front.A brand name used by a web of smaller LLCs that are all technically separate entities on paper.Those LLCs have been buying up properties all around Copper Moon for the last year and a half.Quietly.Methodically.Without drawing attention."
Sabrina stared at her, processing."Buying what kinds of properties?"
"Small motels on the edge of town that weren't turning much profit," Diaz said."Older cottages along the bay that had been in families for generations until someone needed cash more than they needed sentiment.A bait shop near the marina.A couple of houses near the civic center that had been on the market for a while without any takers."She ticked each one off like items on a list."Nothing that sets off alarms on its own.You see different names on each deed.Harborfront Holdings.CM Coastal.Northshore Ventures.Different letterheads, different registered agents.But when you trace them all back to their parent company, they all have the same name at the top.Seaside Development Partners."
Colby tipped his head, his jaw tightening."Shell companies."
Diaz pointed at him."Give the man a gold star.Each LLC holds a piece of the puzzle.Put the pieces together, and you get a line of property that runs from the old campground on the south end of town all the way up to the point near the lighthouse."
Sabrina's mind scrambled to overlay that information on the mental map of Copper Moon she carried in her head.The campground.The stretch of bay cottages.The marina area.The civic center."That's a big chunk of town."
"It is," Diaz agreed."And it gets better.I got a call from a buddy who works in the county assessor's office this morning.There's a preliminary filing sitting on his desk from a hospitality group nobody's heard of.They're requesting tax incentives and infrastructure assistance for what they're calling a 'comprehensive resort development project' along the Copper Moon shoreline."
Colby's expression hardened."Of course they are."
Sabrina's fingers dug into the table, her nails pressing half-moons into the wood."What does any of that have to do with my land?"
Diaz looked at her steadily, her dark eyes offering neither comfort nor apology."Your land is the crown jewel in that line, Sabrina.It's smack in the middle of the stretch they're trying to assemble.It gives them the most direct access from the main road, clear sightlines to the bay, and enough acreage to build whatever anchor property they want without having to negotiate with a dozen small parcel owners.Without your land, they have a broken chain.With it, they have a continuous stretch of shoreline they can develop however they want."
