“Good night,” Dale says. “We’ll be in touch.”
“We will be as well,” Brock says. “And…I guess I should say thanks.”
“What for?”
“For letting me in. Letting me help.”
“Cuz,” I say, “don’t thank us. Trust me.” This will tear out your heart by the end.
I don’t add that last part, of course.
Perhaps I don’t need to.
Brock isn’t like me.
He’s like Uncle Joe. Like Dale. His anger will be his fuel.
But anger doesn’t last forever.
And when it dissipates, you find your heart is scarred.
I don’t wish that for my cousin.
I don’t wish it for my brother or my uncle.
I don’t wish it for myself.
And I wonder, for the first time, if I have any business trying to make a relationship work with a woman as amazing as Callie Pike.
What if the scars on my heart never heal?
Do I dare drag her into my drama?
Perhaps I should let go.
While I still can.
Chapter Sixteen
Callie
I sleep fitfully, and when the alarm rings at six, I seriously think about calling in sick, especially since my job at the city attorney’s office is pretty superfluous.
But that’s not my style.
Callie Pike is a good girl.
At least she tries to be.
Except that once…all those years ago, that is now being dragged back up.
I’m first in the office this morning, before Troy and Alyssa even. I knock on Donny’s door, but there’s no response. When I try to turn the knob, I find it’s locked.
Okay, then. I send him a quick text to let him know I’m at the office. Then?
Time to get to work. Donny wants title scans? I’ll give him title scans. After double-checking to make sure a VPN is indeed installed on my computer, I begin.
Snow Creek, Colorado.
A small town with an apparently troubled history.
I find the relevant databases.
But where to begin?
And the answer surfaces in my mind. I’ll begin with the Snow Creek High School building—the site of the whole Pat Lamone incident. Well, not exactly the site of the incident, but where it all began.
I type in the address and order the title scan. A few seconds pass, and then documents pop up.
A lot of documents.
Which seems odd for a public building. A public building is owned by the government, right? That’s what I thought, anyway.
But this building—this high school has apparently changed hands quite a few times in the last fifty years.
Fifty years ago, it was owned by something called the Fleming Corporation. I hastily scribble down some notes. About thirty years ago, it was completely renovated, and Fleming Corporation transferred it to the Steel Trust.
Mental Note: Ask Donny about the Steel Trust.
The Steel Trust didn’t hold it for long, though. They transferred it to the City of Snow Creek, but sure enough, the Steel Trust continued to hold a lien on the building until ten years later, when the city transferred the building back to the Steel Trust. The building changed hands between the city and the trust several more times, until the last deed dated nearly a year ago. The building is now in the hands of the city again, with a lien held by the trust.
Why?
Why would the Steels continually transfer a public building back and forth?
I quickly type in the address to the building I’m in at the moment—the courthouse and administration building.
I wait another few minutes for the myriad documents to load.
More of the same.
This building—where Donny and Jade do their business—was originally owned by the Fleming Corporation. Then it was transferred to Thomas Simpson about thirty years ago. The name rings a bell.
I do a quick search.
Thomas Simpson was an attorney and mayor of Snow Creek until his death twenty-six years ago. And yes, he’s the father of Bryce Simpson. Grandfather to four of Donny’s cousins—Henry, David, Angie, and Sage.
Why would he have owned a public building? He was the mayor, and his office was in this building, presumably, but a private citizen shouldn’t have ownership of a public building.
Then again—why would the Steels own a public building?
Upon Thomas Simpson’s death, the building did not pass to his widow or his son. It passed into a trust for the benefit of Henry Thomas Simpson.
My eyes pop out of my head.
Henry Simpson. Donny’s cousin.
And there it is to this day.
This building—where I’m sitting right now—is owned by Henry Simpson. Well, not technically. It’s owned by a trust for the benefit of Henry Simpson. Something else to research.
And I wonder…
Does Henry even know about this? Donny obviously doesn’t.
I scribble more notes and continue down the rabbit hole.
Rita’s Coffee House and Café—owned by Rita Hemsworth with a lien by the Steel Trust.
* * *
Raine’s Salon—owned by Raine Cunningham with a lien. Steel Trust.
* * *
Ava’s Bakery—owned by Ava Steel. No lien.
* * *
Interesting. But Ava’s a Steel.
* * *
The Tattoo Shop—a lien.
* * *
The Antique Shop—a lien.
* * *
Lorenzo’s—a lien.
Several other businesses with liens, and several housed in buildings actually owned by the Steel Trust where the business owners rent space.