Page 92 of The Time for Love
On arriving at the Town Hall, Lady Bracknell swept up to the counter and blithely exerted her influence as a resident of note, and in short order, she, Martin, and Oliver were conducted to a basement room by an obsequious but helpful clerk.
“The property records are in this section.” The slender man pointed to a row of metal cabinets lining one wall. He glanced at Martin and Oliver. “What type of property is it, and how far back do you need to search?”
Martin and Oliver exchanged a look, then Oliver replied, “Vacant land or derelict buildings within the town boundaries.”
Martin added, “Most likely to the west.”
“Last five years?” Oliver cocked a brow at Martin. “He is said to be a long-term planner.”
Martin nodded. “Five years should do it.”
The clerk huffed, then directed an unctuous smile at her ladyship. “I should be able to help with that. There aren’t that many vacant blocks left within the town boundaries, even to the west.”
Martin hesitated, then said, “The area we’re particularly interested in is bounded by Broad Lane to the north and West Street to the south.”
“Ah.” The clerk advanced on the cabinets. “That’s nicely specific. It shouldn’t take long to retrieve the relevant files.” He hauled open a cabinet drawer, then paused to ask, “Forward from five years back or from the present going back five years?”
“The latter,” Oliver said. “That’s likely to be faster.”
“Also easier,” the clerk mumbled, diving into the drawer. Straightening, he hauled out an armful of files. “You’ll need to look through these and see if any fit your bill.”
Oliver took the first stack, set the pile on the long table that ran down the room, and started opening and reading the contents of the files.
Martin took the second armful, and Lady Bracknell accepted the third.
The clerk hovered. “I could help if you told me what you’re searching for.”
Without looking up, Oliver replied, “We can’t actually specify well enough, but we’ll know when we see it.”
They were each on their second stack of files, and the clerk was growing bored, when Martin looked up from the file he’d opened. “This is it.” He looked again at the diagram of the parcel of land involved. “Or at least a part of it.”
Oliver and Lady Bracknell crowded around to see.
Eyes narrowing, Lady Bracknell said, “That land is two blocks away from the steelworks.”
Martin nodded. “Directly west, but there’s another parcel of land between.” He looked at the clerk and showed him the map of the site. “Is there any way we can narrow our search to the blocks surrounding this one?”
“Oh yes.” The clerk’s eyes gleamed. “If you’ll just show me the number on the front of that file?”
Martin obliged, and the clerk thought, then rattled off a series of other numbers. “Those are the identifiers for the surrounding blocks. The files should be somewhere among those we have stacked on the table.”
With renewed purpose, they sorted through the files and found several adjoining properties that had been purchased over the past four years. Like the block Martin had found, all had been bought by a CB Enterprises whose address was that of a solicitor’s chambers in London.
At Martin’s suggestion, they extended their search to adjoining properties of the adjoining properties and turned up even more purchases by CB Enterprises.
When the clerk finally decreed that they’d exhausted the possibilities, he helpfully arranged the diagrams of the blocks owned by CB Enterprises boundary to boundary on a clear section of the table, and the four of them stood looking down at the result.
“Good Lord,” Oliver breathed. “No wonder he wants the steelworks so badly.”
Martin nodded. “He left it until last because he knew it would be the most difficult to acquire.”
“Perhaps he hoped the business might weaken over the years,” Oliver offered.
The clerk stared at the diagrams. “I can’t believe that one entity has acquired such a swath of land without anyone noticing!” His expression firmed, and he glanced upward. “The higher-ups will want to know about this and no mistake.” He looked back at the files, then tipped his head. “But I suppose, with the purchases spread over four years, there’s really no reason anyone would have known.”
Her lips setting in ominous fashion, Lady Bracknell shook her head. “If this…development ever comes to pass, the town—certainly that area—will be ruined.”
“From the east side of Bailey Lane, west”—Martin drifted a hand over the files—“all the way to the block facing the church, covering all the land between Broad Lane and Portobello Street.”
