Walter shook his head.
"Not much."
Gabriel sat opposite him.
"How's the hip?"
"Sore."
"You should let Doc examine it again."
"I've already been examined."
"He's stubborn."
Walter smiled.
"Then we have something in common."
Gabriel laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
"Sarah called me."
Walter looked up.
"What did she say?"
"She's worried about you."
"She's entitled to be."
"She asked whether the club could help repair the barn."
Walter looked away.
"I don't want charity."
Gabriel nodded.
"I told her that."
Walter relaxed.
Then Gabriel continued.
"But I also told her that if you wanted to pay for the materials, we'd be happy to help with the work."
Walter smiled.
"That sounds better."
Gabriel leaned back.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Mara found a name."
"Whose?"
"Elaine Porter."
Walter remembered the company Tommy had discovered.
Northgate Advisory.
"What about her?"
"She used to work for Cedar Hollow Community Bank."
Walter stared at him.
"How long ago?"
"Seven years."
"Doing what?"
"Internal compliance."
Walter frowned.
"Then she would have had access to the financial systems."
"Exactly."
Gabriel placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a woman in her forties standing beside Cole Dempsey at a charity event.
Walter recognized Dempsey immediately.
The woman was smiling.
"That's Elaine Porter," Gabriel said.
Walter studied the photograph.
"How does she connect to Arthur Voss?"
"She owns Northgate Advisory. And Northgate received payments from Blackridge."
"How much?"
"Nearly four hundred thousand dollars over eighteen months."
Walter whistled.
"That's a lot of advice."
Gabriel nodded.
"Especially when nobody can explain what the company actually does."
Mara arrived shortly afterward.
She had been working with Tommy to organize the financial records.
She looked tired but determined.
"There's something else we discovered."
Gabriel turned.
"Go ahead."
Mara placed a printed email on the table.
"This message was sent from Elaine Porter to Cole Dempsey."
Walter read it.
The email discussed the upcoming transfer of several mortgage accounts.
It also mentioned a special internal review scheduled for the following month.
Mara pointed to one sentence.
The affected accounts must be reconciled before the external audit begins.
Walter looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
"It suggests they knew the records wouldn't survive an independent examination."
Gabriel leaned forward.
"When was this sent?"
"Two weeks before the first foreclosure notice."
Tommy entered the room.
"I found the same reference in another document."
He displayed a file.
It contained an internal memo from Cedar Hollow Community Bank.
The memo was signed by Cole Dempsey.
The subject line read:
SPECIAL ASSET RECOVERY PROGRAM.
The language was formal and technical.
But the purpose appeared clear.
Certain accounts were to be reclassified as delinquent.
Properties securing those loans would be transferred into a separate recovery portfolio.
The portfolio would then be sold to Cedar Holdings.
Walter read the document twice.
"Can they do that?"
Mara shook her head.
"Not without proper authorization and accurate account records."
"Then why did they?"
Tommy answered.
"Because they expected nobody to examine the transactions closely."
Gabriel stared at the screen.
"How many people signed off on this?"
Mara scrolled down.
Three names appeared.
Cole Dempsey.
Elaine Porter.
Victor Hale.
Gabriel closed his eyes.
There it was.
The connection.
The former treasurer of the Iron Vultures had been working with the people who were stealing land from vulnerable families.
And the man who had once controlled the club's finances had apparently helped establish the financial mechanism used to do it.
Gabriel stood.
"I need some air."
Mara watched him leave.
Walter looked at her.
"Give him a minute."
She nodded.
That afternoon, Walter and Sarah returned to the farmhouse under police supervision.
The barn was still standing, but much of its rear section had been destroyed.
The fire department had placed temporary supports beneath the remaining structure.
Sarah walked through the yard.
She stopped near the old apple tree.
"Mom planted this one."
Walter nodded.
"Yes."
"Do you remember the day?"
"She made me dig the hole."
Sarah smiled.
"She always made you do the hard work."
"She was very good at that."
They stood together beneath the branches.
Then Sarah noticed something near the tree's roots.
A small metal box.
It was partially buried beneath the soil.
"Dad?"
Walter approached.
"What is it?"
She crouched and brushed away the dirt.
The box was old and rusted.
Walter recognized it immediately.
It had belonged to Eleanor.
"That's strange."
"What's inside?"
Walter tried the latch.
It opened.
Inside were several photographs, a folded piece of paper, and a small silver key.
Walter picked up the photographs.
One showed Eleanor standing beside the old railway bridge.
Another showed Walter's father.
The third showed a group of men gathered outside the barn.
Walter recognized one of them.
Arthur Voss.
He was much younger, perhaps in his thirties.
Standing beside him was Walter's father.