Sapphire Nights by Patricia Rice

Author:Patricia Rice [Rice, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Book View Cafe

Chapter 19

Afternoon, June 21

* * *

“The attorney general’s office has a closed file on the mortgage fraud dating back over twenty years,” Walker’s operative reported.

Walker switched the phone to his other ear and started making notes. “When did they close the file?”

“Not long after your father’s death. Their main suspect was Geoffrey Kennedy, and he died. His mortgage company was sold and the loans scattered. They were following leads on the Menendez family, and the developer who snatched up the land under a hippy commune, but Kennedy was the money man. How deep do you want me to dig?”

“Give me names, their relationship to the case, and let’s see if we can establish a map of land ownership. I’m not entirely certain the fraud has ended.” Walker didn’t know why he said that. No one had indicated any problems related to mortgages and foreclosures. The laws had changed since Kennedy had gone on his land grab. He just knew the Kennedys and Menendez were still sparring over casinos and condos and the townspeople were worried.

Anywhere else, the town inhabitants would be helpless, caught between two huge landowners. Walker had a gut feeling that the people of Hillvale were a different breed. He hadn’t liked taciturn Juan all that much, but he didn’t want the security manager to be the first fatality in a new battle.

Since he’d worked overtime during the fire, he had drawn the second shift today. He’d spent the day on his own investigation, but it was time to holster up. He buckled on his gun, picked up his cell and tablet, and was headed for the door when the cell ring indicated his research assistant calling.

Trying to run a business while working a demanding job meant he wasn’t doing either task well. “Yeah?” he said into his Bluetooth as he headed for his official vehicle.

“I’ve been looking into your Ingerssons,” Sofia said proudly.

According to the senior management who had taken over the firm after his father, she’d been trying to become a detective since his father had first hired her. She was actually pretty good at the research end. “And why are you doing that?” Although Walker had been equally curious. He simply didn’t have the time to look into Sam’s maternal family. He no longer had any official reason to become involved in her personal problems.

“I’m not charging anyone for it,” Sofia said in indignation. “That poor girl deserves to know what she’s getting into. The Ingerssons used to own the land bordering the Kennedy resort and the Menendez property above it. That’s where the hippy commune was established. Is there still a farmhouse there? I’ve always wondered what it was like to live off the land.”

Walker tried to picture the area in his head as he started the car and headed out. “May have been once, but there’s no house. The fire took out part of that side of the mountain yesterday, so any other evidence of a farm is probably gone. The commune was half a century ago.

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