David Webb. The surveyor. Found something.
Go.
Those three missing years? He was working for a private surveying firm in Georgia. Firm was called Coastal Land Services.
Ronan stopped walking.
Coastal. Like Coastal Ventures LLC?
Different company. But the same word. Could be coincidence. Could be a pattern.
What happened to the Georgia firm?
Dissolved in 2017. Two years before Webb took the county job in Blossom Springs. All records sealed. I'm working on accessing them, but it's going to take time.
Who owned Coastal Land Services?
That's where it gets interesting. The firm was a subsidiary of a larger holding company. Want to guess which one?
Ronan didn't need to guess.
Coastal Ventures.
Give the man a prize. It's all connected, Ronan. The surveys, the permits, the shell companies, the property transfers. Someone built a system. And that system has been operating for at least a decade, probably longer.
Warren Caldwell?
Still no direct link. But he's on the board of the foundation that funds the intermediary company. He recommended you for this job, which means he wanted someone looking at security—or he wanted to control who was looking. And his name appears in Daniel Bennett's notes from five years ago.
Bennett's notes mentioned Caldwell?
Not by name. But there's a reference to 'W.C.' in connection with a property transfer that Bennett flagged as suspicious. Same initials. Same timeframe.
Ronan stood in the darkness, the Gulf breeze warm against his face, and felt the weight of what they were uncovering settle onto his shoulders.
Warren Caldwell. Beloved philanthropist. Pillar of the community. The man who'd held Lila as a baby and spoken at her father's funeral.
If he were the architect of this operation, the revelation would destroy her.
We need more evidence. He typed. Enough to be certain before we move.
Working on it. But Ronan—if Caldwell is the hub, we have to consider the possibility that he knows about Lila's investigation. Her father's notes. Everything.
He offered her a seat on the town council yesterday.
A long pause before Caleb's response.
That's not good.
No. It's not.
If he's trying to bring her inside, it means he either wants to use her or neutralize her. Either way, she's in more danger than we thought.
Ronan pocketed his phone and stared out at the dark water. Somewhere out there, boats moved through the night. Some of them carried fishermen. Some of them carried tourists.
And some of them, maybe, carried things that weren't supposed to be seen.
He thought about Lila. About the promise he'd made to find answers. About the look in her eyes when she'd asked if he trusted her.
