Page 73 of The Aura Answer
Who, Evie, who?Gracie wanted to scream, once her heart started beating again. She knew her sister was fine, just drained, like all their phone batteries. It happened.
Everyone froze and stared at the large drawing on the floor of the rotunda.
“Uh oh, this is about to get ugly.” Gracie gripped Nick’s arm as Judge Satterwhite lifted the previously concealed architectural drawing that the ghost had sent flying.
Studying the professional print of a mall, the white-haired judge muttered an expletive before asking, “What is this?” He held up the Main Street portrayal. “Bertie didn’t do this. Turlock, is this the drawing you claim Bertie stole?”
All those departing stopped to look.
Gracie could swear the two Turlocks turned three shades of gray. Layman reached apoplectic purple. She was beginning to understand Evie’s penchant for colors.
The sheriff looked up from remanding Teddy Jr. into the custody of one of his deputies. “Is that one of the drawings you took from Bertie?”
Looking defeated in his saggy jeans and nylon jacket, Teddy Jr. shook his head. “That wasn’t in the attic. It used to be in Dad’s office, but Bertie stole it while he was spying on us. I tried to get it back but couldn’t find it.”
Losing his surfer dude carelessness, Tobias Block finally straightened into an angry straight arrow. “It’s an architectural drawing Bertie found while following Mr. Layman around town.”
The chill factor dropped ten degrees. Gracie glanced at her sister. Evie still rested against Jax, but she was following something with her gaze. The ghost of Toby’s father, the man behind Layman’s mall project?
Still muttering un-Santa-like language despite his fuzzy hat, Satterwhite held it up for all to see. “Look familiar to anyone?”
Gracie watched with interest as proper Judge Rhodes in his blue suit eased toward his courtroom door. She considered stepping in front of it, but Nick beat her to it. She sent him a tentative smile. It was easier to be brave with someone at her side.
Rhodes glanced anxiously at the backstairs, but the Sheriff was there with Teddy Jr.
Who woke Bertie up?And what didwokemean? Bertie died while asleep. Did Evie mean someone woke Bertie’sghost? Nervously, Gracie studied all the familiar faces. None looked happy. Or guilty. Pris should be here to read minds.
“Mayor Block wants to say something,” Evie called from the bench when no one responded to the judge’s question. “He’s angry and cursing and not very coherent, so you’ll have to pardon my loose translation. I don’t use that language.”
“Block is dead.” Stiff and stern as only a judge can be, Rhodes objected. “This is ludicrous. That’s a perfectly reasonable rendition of a transformative addition to our town. It will put Afterthought on the map and land prices will soar. We’ll all benefit. People will have good-paying jobs. We can’t relive the Civil War forever.”
Ah, Gracie thought, there was one person who admitted knowing about it. How many others? How could she ever write a mystery when her stomach tied in knots trying to solve the puzzle? And find a killer!
“Afterthought wasn’t much more than a few plantations and farms, a church, and a saloon during the war,” Santa-Satterwhite said with scorn. “Our fathers built this town with hard work, not slave labor. We built businesses we can pass on to our children, businesses that hire our neighbors so we can share the wealth.”
He shook the drawing until it rattled. “Corporate behemoths like this drain us of our livelihoods, send our money to make rich men richer, and make part-time, minimum wage slaves of our young people! Is this what you mean to put on my mother’s farm? Then we can just tear up this little piece of trash now, can’t we?”
“That’s not yours to destroy,” Rhodes cried. “You’re all so buried in your past, you can’t see the future Mr. Layman has promised!”
Shifting his big shoulders beneath his leather jacket, Layman scowled at being named. “Tempest in a teapot, folks. Ghosts and this little girlie don’t know anything. I’ll take the drawing with me, and y’all can go back to enjoying the party.”
Gracie couldn’t stand it. If no one would declare it out loud, she would. She couldn’t let that creep sneak around and steal her home and saynothing.“Tell us where you really mean to build that mall, Mr. Layman! Your Honor, take a look at the courthouse in the corner of the drawing. That’s not your family’s property. That’s right here on Main Street, like the drawing says!”
Satterwhite looked and threw down his Santa hat in fury. Tobias Block grabbed the print from him and held it up so others could crowd around. Gracie watched as Nick whispered to a stranger. Had he called reporters? A few of the council members studied the drawing and muttered. Had theynotall been in on the scheme?
Several phones—the ones presumably with battery backups—pinged around the room. Gracie glanced at a text from Reuben:Larraine on her way with Mrs. Walker
Oh shitlooks passed across half a dozen faces. Larraine was supposed to stay away! She must have tied Reuben in knots to escape his custody.
“Wait a minute, if this is down the street from the courthouse, it takes out my office building!” Geoff Hayes, Jax’s landlord, cried in shock. He’d always been good buddies with Block and the council. And he didn’t know about it?
“Mr. Block is saying none of this can happen if you pay off your mortgages, but your property isn’t worth the paper it’swritten on, if that makes sense?” Evie curled up on the bench, giving Jax freedom to move.
Jax continued to hover protectively over Evie, while Roark paced near the front stairs. The sheriff still guarded the back. Gracie was pretty sure Evie’s team had hidden cameras filming everything. That wouldn’t stop a killer with a gun. She leaned against her hands to keep from chewing nails.
“This isn’t a happy crowd,” Nick whispered in her ear.
“Understatement,” she retorted. “Who was that you were talking to?”
