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With a sigh, Phoebe gave him the best evidence she had. “Rebecca Salisbury at the Humane Society told me that Copperman contacted her and tried to pressure her to remove me from the list of grant-eligible rescues.”
Ty jotted down a few words. “And did she make false claims about the ranch, or did she simply try to influence them to stop helping you?”
“I don’t know. Aren’t they both bad?”
“For you, sure. But if all she did was ask them to reconsider you, or even if she threatened to withhold her support if they continued supporting you, she would be completely within her rights. It’s only if she lies about you and that lie does real harm where defamation comes in—but again, it is extremely hard to prove to a legal standard. We might have better luck if she made false statements in her health-department complaint. They did the inspection this morning?”
Sitting at Phoebe’s side in Ty’s humble office, Margot scoffed loudly. “They showed up at six-fucking-thirty this morning. Tell me that’s not harassment.”
Ty gave her a level look. “Now, I know you know better than that. We might feel sure there was malicious intent, but as this was an unscheduled inspection based on a complaint, you know they can and will show up when they want. Without proof, a text message or memo or voice mail, something like that, where someone involved states clearly that they mean it as harassment—or better, that this Harry Morgan is colluding with Copperman—we can’t prove harassment. Filing a false report is a crime, but that’s for the health department to address. For us, we could use the false report as evidence of defamation, but only if we can prove that it was false, and that she knew it was false.”
“She did it to hurt me. She didn’t care whether it was true or false.”
Now it was Ty’s turn to sigh. “Do you have the inspection report with you?”
Phoebe had the clear impression that his patience with her was wearing thin. She pulled the inspection report from the manilla folder she’d brought, with every kind of documentation she could think of. In fact, she also pulled the previous inspection report, the one the ranch had passed only two months earlier. Leaning forward, she passed the papers to Ty.
He spent a few minutes looking over them both. Phoebe looked over at Margot, who gave her and encouraging smile. But Phoebe wasn’t capable of encouragement at the moment. She’d known coming in here that she was fucked, and nothing that Ty had said yet had suggested there was any way she’d be unfucked.
A four-person inspection team had arrived on the ranch that morning while the sun was still hitting snooze. Those four people had spent two full hours scouring the place while Margot, Vin, Phoebe, and Gremlin had sat on the porch like condemned souls waiting their turn at the gallows.
When they were finished, Harry Morgan, the inspector in charge, had handed Phoebe a much thicker report than the previous one. And the result was different. Not an outright fail, but a ‘provisional pass.’ They now had thirty days to replace the stable roof, replace about thirty feet of the corral fence, regrade the gravel, and have a state-appointed vet provide a welfare certification of every single animal. If all that wasn’t done by the deadline, the ranch’s license would be withdrawn and the animals removed.
They could replace the fence themselves. It was labor- and time-intensive, and it would be much easier to do in April than in February, but they could do the work, and the actual cost would be only a few hundred dollars. They could manage that.
The other required items were where disaster lurked. She’d gotten bids on a new roof when the previous inspector had warned her a replacement wasn’t too far off. Those bids averaged about $100,000. Grading the gravel lot and the road would be around ten grand. And paying an unfamiliar vet what would no doubt be a premium for certifying the welfare of twenty-five animals was going to be thousands as well.
At the moment, Phoebe had less than a thousand dollars in her savings account. She had more in checking, but that was for paying the usual bills. After dinner last night, Margot had created a GoFundMe, and she’d released it after the inspectors left, but they needed like $150,000 right away. They didn’t have time for the usual dribs-and-drabs pace of her fundraising.
Or they could fight the inspection, but Phoebe already knew—she’d known before she sat down in this fake-leather chair—that there was nothing to fight. She didn’t have enough proof, enough money, or enough power to take on RichBitch Karen Trophy Wife.
“I’m going to be straight with you, Phoebe,” Ty finally said, pushing the papers back together in a neat stack, “I don’t see anything actionable here. The inspector in November noted that the stable roof was showing clear signs of wear. He noted that the corral fence was due for maintenance or repair. He doesn’t mention anything about the road, but between November and February, our weather can be hard on roads, so ... does it need grading?”
Reluctantly, Phoebe nodded.
“As for the welfare certifications, that’s within parameters when there’s been a complaint about an animal’s condition. The new inspection here notes that there’s a dapple gelding in rough shape.”
“Ragamuffin is a rescue ranch. We have animals in bad shape there all the time, because I rescue them from bad conditions. Smoky’s only been with us a couple weeks, after years of abuse and neglect. It takes a while to recover.”
“The report says there’s an open sore on his foreleg.”
“Yes. He didn’t like being on his own during his quarantine period, and he hurt himself making a ruckus about it. Abuse and neglect cause trauma, too, you know. We’re treating it. My actual vet has been out to seen him four times already. Can’t we ask her to tell them how we treat our animals? Whose side are you fucking on here, Ty?”
Margot reached out and grabbed her arm, and Phoebe realized she was almost out of her seat. She sat back and tried to get control of the panic, and the way it was playing her brain like a steel drum.
“I’m on your side, Phoebe,” Ty said gently. “I serve you best by being honest. I’m taking this case as a favor to you and Margot, but I’m not rolling in cash over here. You know this. I don’t have the resources myself to take on McIntosh County and some rich chick from the City, not unless I know we have a real shot at winning. And I don’t see it yet.”
“She really is doing this to hurt me,” Phoebe insisted without any heat at all. Another spike of pain speared through her head, and her vision began to swirl. She clenched her hands around the arms of her chair.
“I believe you completely,” Ty assured her. “I just don’t see how we can prove it.”
“I just want to live,” she said, because it was the only clear thought in her head. “I just want my little life.”
Margot leaned over and tried to hug her, but Phoebe leaned away. She’d break apart if so much pity touched her now.
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~oOo~
