“Night, Uncle Lyle,” she said in a sleepy voice.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Night, Squirt.”
He shut the door behind him, then made his way back down to the kitchen.
Joe had his computer open at the kitchen table.
“How’d it go at Dolly’s?” he asked.
“Good. Dolly’s getting frailer. The Leukemia is advancing, I think.”
“That’s too bad.”
“I need to make time to get Charlotte over there more often.”
“That’s not going to be easy. Once school starts it’ll feel like a whole lot less hours in the day to fit in visiting.”
“I know. But we’ll make it happen. Listen, I need a favor.”
“Shoot.”
“Remember that Darren character I told you about?”
“Yeah. The one who’s threatening to go into competition with Heather if she doesn’t partner up?”
“Yes.” Lyle fished the business card out of his pocket. “This is the company he works for. Can you see what you can find out about both him and the business?”
“What’s up?”
“A company put an offer on the property Heather’s trying to buy. It’s a ten-acre parcel just outside of town. Nice house and grounds. She’s got her heart set on it. The place is in probate and she’s the only one who’s shown any interest. Now, out of the blue, someone’s come in and raised the stakes by seventy-five grand.”
“Does she have the money to match that?”
“I don’t think so. She’s set aside money for renovations—and the place needs quite a bit of updating. So, if she has to pony up more to buy the place, something else will have to give.”
“We can spot her the funds.”
“I offered. She’s stubborn.”
Joe nodded, already tapping keys on his computer.
It was a while before Joe finally looked up from his laptop screen, his expression grim. Light from the kitchen's overhead fixture cast shadows across his face as he rubbed his tired eyes.
"Well?" Lyle asked, setting a fresh cup of coffee in front of his brother. It wasn't unusual for Joe to practically disappear into the deep recesses of his computer when he went into concentration and discovery mode.
"BMG Industries, the company on Richards' card, is a shell corporation. It's registered in Dallas, but there's not much else to go on. The address leads to a P.O. Box."
"That's not suspicious at all," Lyle muttered sarcastically.
"No, it's not." Joe took a sip of coffee. "But here's where it gets interesting. I dug into Richards himself. He's got quite a history of hostile business takeovers. Mostly small operations that he basically steamrolls into selling."
"And now he's after Heather's business?"
"Looks that way. The pattern is always the same. He finds successful small businesses, usually ones that are looking to expand, and then applies pressure. Sometimes it's through competition, sometimes through real estate manipulation."
Lyle's jaw clenched. "Son of a?—"
"There's more," Joe interrupted, turning his laptop so Lyle could see the screen. "Take a look at this."
