Indian Summer by Tracy Richardson

Author:Tracy Richardson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Midpoint Trade Books
Published: 2010-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

THAT AFTERNOON, AL drives Eric and Marcie to the Department of Planning and Development in town in his ancient wide-track Pontiac sedan. Al is a careful driver—perhaps too careful. He drives so slowly he is almost a menace to the other drivers by disrupting the normal flow of traffic. Marcie notices several cars stop abruptly to avoid him or pull out to try to pass his slow-moving vehicle. There are a couple of near misses to which Al is oblivious, but they get there without an accident. Inside the building, they approach a long counter with a middle-aged man dressed in khakis and a blue button-down shirt seated at a desk just beyond it. Rows and rows of filing cabinets fill the room. He sees them come in and rises, reaching across the counter to shake Al’s hand.

“Hello, Al, how’ve you been? Hey, kids,” he says as they shake hands.

“I can’t complain, Bob. These bones have a lot of mileage on them, but I’m holding up pretty well. How’re things with you?”

“’Bout the same. Been doing much fishing?”

“Yup. Caught some nice blue gills over off the south shore by the new condos the other day. They were biting good.”

Listening to this exchange, Marcie wonders how long it will take for Al to get down to business and ask about the zoning permits for James Woods. She rolls her eyes at Eric, but he shrugs, seeming content to let the men go through the social pleasantries. After being reprimanded for being impatient before they went fishing the other day, he must have gotten on Lake Time. Marcie taps her fingers on the counter in an effort to speed things up.

“I’ll have to try that spot. What brings you by today?”

“We’ve been hearing some rumors about development plans for James Woods. Don Swyndall says they’re planning to develop it into a nature park, but we heard there might be more to it than that. Do you know anything about it?”

“Actually, I was hoping someone would come around asking about it. I tried to give you some hints the last time I saw you. As a commission employee, I can’t really comment or take action on the permits we issue, but the permits are a matter of public record. This one hits a little too close to home. I played in James Woods as a child, and so did my children. I hope it will still be around for my grandchildren to play there.” He turns to the nearest filing cabinet, opens a drawer and searches for a file.

“I remembered what you said the other day and tried to pin Swyndall down when I saw him at the Hortons’ house, but he was very vague about his plans.”

“We heard they are planning to build a gated community of Estate Homes—in James Woods,” Marcie says indignantly.

“What can we do to stop them?” asks Eric.

Bob finds the file he is looking for. “Building and development permits are a matter of public record.” He lays the file open on the counter.

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