Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Guadalupe had completely dismissed the uncomfortable creeper lurking around her house as if she could just wipe him from her mind. She loved her job, and it showed in her animated features as she gave them the details of her journey to find the owner of the property.
“This Adam Young said his client would yank the trust but also included other businesses,” Raine said, her voice thoughtful. “Would he have included those businesses in his trust? Are they listed as an LLC?”
“We can do a business search for the state,” Guadalupe said. “That would be interesting. The property is here in this county. What other businesses are under an LLC in the county or neighboring ones? It might take weeks, but I particularly like the challenge.”
“I have a program that searches for patterns,” Raine said. “That might cut our search time down. Of course, we don’t know that the owner even lives in this area or has his other businesses close.”
“But,” Stella chimed in, “he used Adam Young in Independence to write up and execute his trust. If he’s such a big shot, why go to a small town instead of some larger company?”
“There’s that,” Zahra agreed. “Do we know if the property was homesteaded? There is no house on it.”
“But there is the barn and evidence of fencing,” Harlow pointed out. “Most of the fence is gone, the wood rotted and lying on the ground, but they had done improvements.”
“The criteria for homesteading a century ago,” Raine said, “which is approximately the time Knightly was established…”
“Did the five founding families travel together and decide to settle close to one another?” Vienna asked.
Raine nodded. “They were young and had families, at least according to the records. They settled down and each chose land to develop. Knightly built up from there. The homesteading rules of 1862 consisted of several requirements. You had to be twenty-one years old or head of a household to apply. You could claim a parcel of land that was usually around one hundred and sixty acres. You did have to build a dwelling and improve the land within a five-year period. A portion of the land was to be used for farming, usually at least ten acres. You finalized the claim with a fee, which was around ten dollars. Here’s the kicker: you had to prove residency and improvements to get full ownership.”
“Could the barn have been considered a dwelling?” Harlow asked. “Inside, there are quite a few old tools for farming. There were a few broken pieces of crockery buried in the dirt that I noticed in my photographs, but I didn’t really pay attention to. There’s some evidence that the land several yards from the barn was used to grow food. I say that because there are still a few plants trying to survive through all the weeds. I haven’t spent a lot of time looking around. Mostly, I boulder when I go there. It could be that the remains of a cabin might be somewhere on the property.”
“A homestead claim would have been filed,” Raine said. “I can look into that. But it’s possible the land was sold to someone else because the original homesteader didn’t fulfill his obligation.”
“I love a good mystery,” Guadalupe said. “Thank you, ladies, for bringing me this puzzle. I love my job. I love everything about finding the perfect property for a client, but delving into a labyrinth and trying to unwind the various paper trails adds a lot of variety to what I do. It keeps me from ever being bored.” She stood up, looking at her watch. “Speaking of which, I have clients coming in half an hour. A young family eager to find a home. They love bouldering and like the idea of being close to Yosemite. I think I’ve found several good possibilities for them.”
They watched her make her way through the maze of tables. She turned at the door and gave them a little wave.
Harlow sighed. “We didn’t do a very good job of persuading her that she’s in danger. More and more, I’m convinced she was the young girl the senator shoved over the border, pregnant. I want to just come out and ask her, but I’d rather she tell me.”
“I think your instincts are right,” Stella said. “I think it takes her a long time to trust anyone. For her to reveal very personal details about her past, especially if she was trafficked by the cartel, would be extremely difficult.”
“At least you aren’t getting death threats at the moment,” Raine said. “Hopefully, she believed us when we told her about your life with the senator.”
“And how you spent a small fortune on private detectives trying to find your brother,” Zahra added.
Harlow sat in silence, allowing the others to talk around her. Her mind kept going to the man hiding his identity as he snooped around Guadalupe’s house. Was it a member of the Delgotto Cartel? Had Guadalupe been hiding all these years in the small town of Knightly, and somehow she’d been exposed? Or was it the killer Harlow was absolutely certain had been responsible for all the deaths in and around Knightly?