Page 21 of Big Daddy Bull Riders

Most of the others nodded in agreement, Mina noticed. She hung loose in the back, where she could see everyone. The small room felt a little cramped, but the atmosphere was less oppressive now that Hugo Sparks had left.

Standing at the front of the room, near a lectern, Alejandra explained. “It’s complicated. But long story short, some of the properties the city took over have tax liens attached to them.”

“What do you mean?” Joe asked.

“Well, take the newspaper office, for example. The city acquired that property because the original owner has long since passed and you never found a rightful heir. Correct?”

“Yeah,” Joe admitted. “We went through a lengthy court process and the judge finally declared it property of the town.”

“That’s right,” Alejandra said. “But the judge missed something. This guy… Mr. Sparks… found a loophole. Back property taxes were owed. Years’ worth. Technically, those have to be paid to settle the account, or the property goes to auction to settle the debts.”

“How come we’re just finding out about this?” Quinn asked, clearly shocked by the revelation.

Mina pulled out her phone and started tapping some notes into it. She cursed herself for not asking if she could record the meeting. It was imperative that she capture everything just as it was.

“I wish I had been your attorney back when these properties were acquired,” Alejandra stated bluntly. “Not to sound arrogant, but I’m confident I would have caught this.” She shrugged. “In all fairness, it wasn’t just the attorneys who missed it. The judge didn’t notice, either.”

The mood in the room seemed heavy, and Mina felt the weight of it.

Part of her feared she was being selfish. She’d just moved to Big Cedar. That newspaper was her dream! The office was now her home. Would it be torn from her?

She felt awful for the entire town, too. This seemed to have huge ramifications. But just how huge?

“How many properties are we talking about?” she asked.

The attorney looked remorseful, as if it upset to deliver bad news, as she responded, “The newspaper office, this lot where City Hall sits, though the building was added after the property was acquired, and even where the fire station and sheriff's office is.” She shook her head and sighed. “Of course, those buildings were added after the fact, too. If the city were to lose the property, that would create a whole complicated mess of who owned the structures.”

Marsha gasped.

The firemen shook their heads in disbelief.

Doc Worden growled, “This is bullshit.” He looked at Mina. “Sorry about my language, honey.”

She smiled. Everyone knew she was a Little, despite the fact that she was wearing “big girl” clothes right now. As a reporter, she’d heard a lot worse thanbullshit, though. She didn’t go into all that now. She just nodded to indicate it was quite alright.

“It is bullshit,” Alejandra agreed. “But, if this proves true, it is the law. And though it is a total dick move, Mr. Sparks would be within the law to raise this issue.”

Mina looked around the room to see that everyone was hanging on the attorney’s every word, just as she was.

“Now, we have several options. One, we file some injunctions to try and stop him. Or at the very least slow him down. Jam it up in the courts while we come up with a plan.”

Mina tried to gauge everyone’s reactions. The firemen nodded at the idea. Marsha didn’t look so sure. The others remained stoic, as if simply waiting to hear all the options before passing judgement.

“Option two,” Alejandra continued, “we pay the taxes and just be done with it. Though they’re way past due, surely a judge would understand. I mean, it’s a judge who missed this in the first place.” She shrugged. “There’s a good chance they would dismiss it entirely since the city technically owns the property now. But my guess is, they’d just rule that Big Cedar needs to pay the back taxes.”

“How much are we talking?” Joe asked.

“About four hundred thousand,” the attorney said.

Joe let out a low whistle.

“How much is in the town savings?” Cane asked.

Joe scoffed. “Not that much.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Probably a hundred and fifty grand. A little over.”

“Can we get credit?” Marsha asked.

“We can try,” Joe said.

---