Page 55 of Dr. Alaska
The clues began to fall into place.
Next to him, Lee didn’t move.
“Getting it for a song, once the bank finishes their work,” Randy continued.
Dee clanked a plate in the sink. Hard. “That’s it, I’m going in.”
Mav grabbed his sister but missed Lee, who sauntered to the table. “How do you figure that?” Her Southern accent thickened into a sweet, charming voice that snagged everyone’s attention.
“You don’t know? Your boyfriend here is broke. The business will be belly-up after I post more customer reviews of the unsafe equipment and trails out here. Also, my nephew here is going to sue.”
Nick kept his eyes on his plate.
“Why would he sue?” Lee said.
Randy gave her a broad, patronizing smile. “That wreck was the owner’s fault, sweetheart. Faulty machine. Poor maintenance. Trails are dangerous.”
“You did sign a waiver,” Mav growled, standing next to her.
He shrugged. “We’ll tie you up in court and publicize it. There won’t be anything left of this place once foreclosure hits. Nothing left.” He grinned. “Except for gold.”
“Huh?” Mav shook his head and looked at Dee, who shrugged.
“This property sits on a vein of gold. This location is at the tail end of the Ray Mountains. A survey fifty years ago listed this as proven and probable resource, not only for gold but also some rare earth elements that are currently in high demand.”
Dee removed some of the men’s empty dishes. “No seriously, what are you talking about?” She turned to Mav. “Mom and Dad never mentioned anything about mining.”
“She’s your sister? Oh, that’s rich. Get it? Rich.” Randy laughed at his joke and speared a piece of caribou, chewed, and swallowed. “About ten years ago, I was poking around in the public USGS records down in the Seattle office searching for speculation properties and came across the survey for this parcel. It had been misfiled, so no one knew it existed. I had been in the process of getting an updated survey—contingent before I made the purchase. That’s when your folks swooped in before I could complete the survey and stole the property out from under me.”
Mav opened his mouth but nothing came out.
Dee’s expression matched his.
A thrumming pulse in Mav’s forehead momentarily blocked out sound. He and his sister were about to lose far more than anyone had realized. He stared at the desk with the letters and the BLM and USGS mail. His fingers itched to open those envelopes right now.
With a warm smile, Lee walked around the table next to Randy. “So, wait. All you have to do is get the bank to foreclose, and you get the property?”
“Yep. Bank has my paperwork ready to go.”
“What’s to keep someone else from buying it first?”
He grinned. “I’m friends with the president of the bank that holds this property’s mortgage. First in line.” He rested his elbows on the table. “To make sure the foreclosure happens quickly, Nick’s going to sue for damages and negligence.”
She nodded. “Oh, so that will speed up the part where they can’t pay the mortgage. By chewing up their resources in legal fees and attorneys or tanking the business.”
“You got it.”
“To make them use up their money, Nick is going to sue.” She tapped a finger on her full lower lip.
Mav shifted from foot to foot, squirming at the way Lee laid out what was going to happen. Didn’t matter how, Mav would fight Randy to the end.
“As well he should,” Randy said. “I mean, look at him with the broken leg and all.”
He seemed fine to Mav, except for the injury, which, by the way, was covered by liability waivers and business insurance. His face grew hot.
Almost to herself, she said, “You’ll need the medical notes to support the claim.”
He bristled. “Obviously, sweetheart. Once the lawyers see the report, we can decide how many zeros to put on the settlement.”
