“This is bullshit,” Boone spits. “She’s trying to save this place. She’s busting her ass. And someone is trying to stab her in the back?”
“We need to tell her,” I say. “She needs to know.”
“Tell me what?” a voice asks.
We turn.
Saramaria is standing on the porch. She’s wearing boots and a heavy coat, her face pale. She looks fragile, but she’s standing tall.
I walk over to her. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she says. “My head still hurts, but the fever is gone. What’s going on? You guys look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I look at Boone. He nods.
“We need to talk,” I say. “Inside.”
We move into the kitchen. The house is quiet. Wellsy comes trotting in behind her, sensing the mood.
Saramaria sits at the table. She folds her hands in front of her.
“What is it?” she asks.
“The pipes,” I say. “West investigated the breaks.”
“And?”
“They weren’t cut by kids,” I say. “They were cut deliberately. To cause a failure. To trigger an inspection.”
She frowns. “Why?”
“Because someone wants the land,” I say gently. “West thinks there’s a group trying to pressure the county into condemning the property. If it’s condemned, it goes to auction. They can buy it for pennies on the dollar.”
She stares at me. The color drains from her face. “What?”
“It’s a scheme,” I say. “It’s dirty. It’s illegal. But it’s happening.”
She sits there for a long moment. She doesn’t move. She doesn’t blink.
I watch her face. I see the shock, the denial, and then the dawning realization. I’m terrified she’s going to break. She has been through so much. The grandfather, the betrayal, the financial ruin. To find out it’s not just bad luck, but malice...
She takes a breath. She sits up straighter. Her jaw sets.
“Do you know who?” she asks.
“Not yet,” I say. “West is working on it.”
“Okay,” she says. Her voice trembles, but her eyes are hard. “Okay. Then we find them. And we stop them.”
I look at her. I look at Boone and Knox.
Boone is grinning, a fierce, proud expression. Knox is shaking his head, looking impressed.
She didn’t break. She didn’t crumble. She got mad.
“Okay,” I say.
“And in the meantime,” she says, looking at Knox, “did you tell them about Louisiana? You’re taking the job?”
