After Turner took Annie back to her boys and sister, he went looking for the one person who could help him understand what had just happened. Annie should have had at least another month before she moved. Two would have been more reasonable. That she didn’t have that wasn’t making sense.
Someone was jerking people around. And using his office to do it.
And they hadn’t bothered to inform him.
Powell read the letter quickly. Turner watched her expression darken as she reached the bottom. “Technically, it’s legal. A bit dirty—they are offering the lowest minimum allowed by law, under the shortest time frame. The exact opposite of what I’d do. But I’m also not in the business of taking people’s homes to build shopping plazas. But it’s not illegal, exactly. Just unethical. And highly dirty of this Boethe committee of yours. I’d file a stay on behalf of the five families affected. I can handle that for you. On their behalf. But I’ll need to represent at least one of the families directly. Think your non-girlfriend will let me?”
“I...don’t know. She seems resigned. Says she needs to focus on her kids first. Says that all that matters is that they have a roof over their heads. She’s renting a ranch in Barratt County. Plans to move as much over today as she can. Does she actually need to be living in the house to fight the seizure?”
Powell shook her head. “Then, we’ll talk to another neighbor or two. Get your toothbrush and bleach. You’ll need to give them that handsome politician’s smile of yours and do a lot of baby kissing. Then step aside so the real brains in the family can take over.”
“Gee, thanks, Powell. What would I do without you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t plan on giving you the opportunity to find out. Let’s roll. I want to catch your girlfriend while we still can. Consider this my one foray into charity work of the year.”
Turner snorted. Powell did more charity work than she did legal. She just didn’t let anyone know that.
Yeah, he was rather glad to still have her around. Not even a tornado could stop his little cousin without a fight. She was just the woman to help Annie.
Giving Annie thirty days to vacate had just pissed him off enough to bring out the big guns.