Chapter Twenty-Seven

It was five after one. Kate’s heart was in her throat. Please, Lord, don’t let us be too late, she prayed as she ran toward the library with Louisa and her two conservationist friends who had met her when she parked. They’d been forced to park a distance away. Kate hadn’t expected the size of the crowd that apparently had turned out.

As the women, Gordie, and Troy hurried toward the library, Kate realized she didn’t hear anything that sounded like demolition going on. Surely they would be able to hear a machine tearing down walls, wouldn’t they?

Sheriff Roberts passed them, the flashing lights on his official SUV clearing a path through the people clogging the street as he inched closer to the scene. As she drew near the barricade, Kate saw Gerald Foxfield, the lawyer Ellis Hayer, and town-council president Tosten Glass huddled together. Foxfield was shouting and gesticulating at the library, where Kate could see a bunch of demolition equipment and—

Protesters?

She looked closer, and her mouth fell open. She stopped running to stare, her chest heaving as she caught her breath.

“What’s wrong?” The two men behind her nearly ran her down.

She pointed. “Th-that’s my husband!” And my friend and—and half the town, she realized. They were all calmly seated in front of the library.

Gordie began to laugh. “Wow. This town is amazing.”

Jeremy yelled, “Mom! Come join us,” and Louisa, after scrubbing the tears from her face, ducked beneath the barricade and headed toward her son.

Troy was smiling too. “Is that Foxfield?” he murmured to Kate, indicating the ranting and raving man. When she nodded, he said, “Showtime.” He moved ahead of Kate and Gordie, heading for Gerald.

Livvy scrambled up from the ground and ran to meet them. Paul also got up and came toward the group.

“What’s going on?” Livvy asked Kate. For the first time since Kate had come home from her trip, there was hope and animation in Livvy’s face.

“Just watch,” Kate said, grinning as she took Livvy by the elbow and drew her along with them.

Paul followed, and when Kate came to a halt in front of Gerald Foxfield, Paul rested his hands on her shoulders in a supportive, protective gesture. Thankful for his presence, she briefly leaned back against him.

Sheriff Roberts joined them. He hadn’t been able to get as close to the scene as he might have liked, and he was still breathing hard after the rush from his SUV.

As the group stood in front of Foxfield, Kate took a moment to whisper to the sheriff what Louisa had told her about the threats Gerald had made.

Then Troy extended a hand, forcing Gerald to do the same. “Mr. Foxfield. I’m Troy Silhouse, from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This is my colleague, Gordon Connaly, who’s with the Center for Biological Diversity.” Troy reached into the breast pocket of his snappy suit. “This is an injunction from Harrington County Judge, the Honorable Emmett Barger, who has issued a temporary restraining order against any persons or agencies attempting to commence the demolition of the Copper Mill Public Library in Copper Mill, Tennessee.” He slipped it into Foxfield’s hand while the man stood looking at him in disbelief.

Tosten Glass said, “Why, that’s preposterous!”

Ellis Hayer, Gerald’s lawyer, had been standing a pace behind him. He stepped forward and took the injunction from Foxfield’s frozen hand, opening it and scanning its contents.

“This is in order,” he said to Gerald. “You can’t do anything with the library until the status of...a population of squirrels is determined?” His voice rose in disbelief, and he looked at Silhouse for confirmation.

Troy nodded. “If you wish to contest it,” he said, “there’s a number you can call to set up a meeting with Judge Barger and my office.”

“You can’t do this!” Gerald said. His face contorted with fury.

“I assure you I can,” Silhouse told him. “The USFW is a bureau of the Department of the Interior, which I’m sure you are aware is a branch of the federal government and, as such, has the power to delay projects undertaken in unseemly haste until their impact on the environment can be measured.”

Kate had to stifle a grin at the stilted official language she was sure Tony had used on purpose.

Gerald angled his body and took a step toward Kate. His fists were clenched and his head lowered as if he was about to charge. “This is all your fault,” he bellowed. “You meddling—”

Sheriff Roberts stepped in front of Kate as Paul’s hands began to draw her backward. “Mr. Foxfield,” he said, “you are under arrest for forging a document pertaining to the ownership of the Copper Mill Public Library and for attempting to perpetrate blackmail.”

“What?” Gerald’s face turned deep purple. “I didn’t do any such—”

“We have copies of the original deed, stating that Charles Foxfield donated the property to the town of Copper Mill for the establishment of a public library,” Kate said. She watched with interest as Tosten Glass began to sidle away from Foxfield. “In addition, Louisa Pellman has told us about your scheme to claim ownership of the library and demolish it in order to search for gold and ultimately turn it into an apartment complex. She also told us that you forced her to plant blackmail notes in Mrs. Jenner’s office. You also had her plant a note in my purse attempting to cast aspersions on Malcolm Dekker and Eli Weston. Louisa has agreed to testify to all of that.”

Gerald looked at Louisa with loathing. “You stupid girl. I knew you were going to be a problem.”

“What?” Ellis Hayer looked ill. The attorney’s color had drained away beneath his tan, and he regarded his client with disbelief. “You forged the deed to the library that you showed me?” His voice rose. “The one I took to the council? You don’t own this property?”

“That’s correct,” Kate said.

Gerald started to bellow something, but Sheriff Roberts spun him around and expertly cuffed his wrists behind his back before Foxfield could move. Efficiently, Roberts began to frog-march the resisting man to his SUV, where Deputy Skip Spencer waited to help load the prisoner.

“He forged the deed,” Ellis Hayer said again in disbelief. “Why would he do that?”

“Personal gain,” Kate told the lawyer and the others assembled. “His family was quite wealthy, but it appears that Gerald Foxfield squandered the fortune after his father passed away. He lost nearly everything.”

Paul gave a low whistle behind her and several sets of eyebrows shot up.

“But why our library?” Livvy asked.

“The library was donated to the town by Gerald Foxfield’s grandfather in the 1930s,” Kate told them all. “I think Gerald cooked up the fake deed plot to claim he owned it for two reasons. First, if he demolished the library, he could build multiunit apartments in its place. Second, there was once a vein of gold discovered in a streambed that ran through here. Foxfield had some crazy idea that he was going to find gold, I believe.”

“But what about zoning requirements and building codes?” Livvy said. “He couldn’t just excavate or build there willy-nilly without the proper permits.”

“Oh, I believe he thought he wouldn’t have any trouble getting the permits he needed,” Kate said. She turned to the council president, who had stepped back even farther in an attempt to distance himself from the trouble. “Isn’t that right, Tosten?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Glass bluffed. “When that man came to the council with a copy of the deed and Foxfield’s demands, we had no way of knowing it was a false document. We only did what we had to do, legally speaking.”

“And Gerald Foxfield will testify that you had nothing to do with it?” Kate countered. “That he didn’t bribe you to push his requests through with the promise of sharing his future wealth?”

Glass wilted visibly, the pugnacious expression on his face fading. “Everyone knows that man’s a liar,” he said.

“Then why did Foxfield hire the demolition company on June 30, before the council had even learned about the supposed deed problem? A person might think that Foxfield knew someone on the council who was going to smooth the way.”

Glass hesitated. It was only a fraction of a second, but everyone watching him caught the flare of panic in his eyes. “You’re crazy. You’ll never prove it.” He sneered at Kate.

Suddenly she realized who had made the threatening phone call on Thursday. Tosten sounded hoarse and desperate—much as he had on the phone.

“When your telephone records are subpoenaed, and we can prove you made a phone call to my home threatening me if I didn’t stop investigating the library demolition,” Kate told him, “we will.”

Sheriff Roberts had returned from his SUV, where Deputy Spencer was keeping watch over Gerald Foxfield.

“All right,” he said, “then let’s get started. Mr. Glass, I suggest you call your attorney, because if you aren’t telling the truth, you are going to face some conspiracy and attempted blackmail charges, at the very least.”

“You’re wrong,” Glass said desperately. “All of you.” He turned and forced a path through the curious onlookers who had gathered. Sheriff Roberts followed close behind him, pulling out a second set of handcuffs.

There was a brief silence in the wake of Glass’ departure, broken by loud, angry protests as Sheriff Roberts began to read him his rights. For the first time, Kate noticed council member Ben Dean standing near the back of the crowd. Dean looked as stunned and betrayed as many others in the crowd. She had suspected him at one point, but it appeared that he was truly just a fiscal conservative who didn’t appreciate the value of the library.

Ellis Hayer cleared his throat. “Please give my apologies to the citizens of this community,” he said to Kate. “I thought the deed was legal.”

“So did the town-council members the first time they saw a copy of it,” Kate said. “Apology accepted.”

Hayer turned and walked away. The crowd was dispersing now that the drama was over, and as word spread, the protesters were climbing to their feet. People could be heard asking it if was safe to leave their places.

Troy and Gordie smiled at each other and shook hands, and then each offered a hand to Kate.

“Your efforts were both heroic and astonishing,” Gordie said to Kate.

“Oh, it wasn’t me.” Kate blushed and smiled as she pointed heavenward. “I’m just one of several instruments. Jeremy, come here,” she called, spotting the youngster approaching with Louisa at his side. “I want to introduce you to the boy who discovered these squirrels,” she told the men.

After the introductions were made, Paul opened his arms and hugged her. “You are astonishing,” he told her. “I’m so proud of you, Katie. I thank God for sharing you with me every day.”

Tears stung Kate’s eyes, and she kissed her husband right there in the middle of Main Street. “I love you,” she told him. Then she remembered what he’d been doing that morning. “Why are you here? I thought you’d be working on Louisa’s roof.”

“None of us wanted to miss this,” he said. “When we thought the library was coming down, I thought moral support might be needed. As it turned out, we were able to lend a little more than just moral support.”

Kate laughed, thinking of all the people who had stepped in front of those machines to stage a sit-down protest.

Over Paul’s shoulder, she caught sight of Livvy. Her friend was surrounded by Danny and their boys and a dozen other library workers and volunteers. Louisa Pellman had moved to her side, and Livvy had her arm around Louisa’s shoulders, patting her as she wept. But as Kate’s eyes met Livvy’s, Livvy grinned and beckoned.

“We’ll talk later,” Kate said to Paul. “Right now I have to go celebrate with Livvy!” And she flew off to her friend.

Livvy met her halfway, and they threw themselves into each other’s arms as their families and friends beamed.

“Oh, Kate,” Livvy said, hugging her so tightly that Kate squeaked and gasped for breath, “if not for you, this horrible event would have had a very different outcome. How can I ever thank you? I gave up, you know. When I should have been trusting God and supporting you, I was throwing in the towel and bracing myself for the worst.”

“It’s understandable,” Kate said. “It’s called self-protection. You had to prepare yourself for the worst so you could function afterward. If the demolition had occurred, everyone would have been looking to you for leadership.”

Livvy closed her eyes for a moment. “I still can’t believe it isn’t going to happen!”

Kate took her by the shoulders and gently squeezed. “It isn’t going to happen,” she said. Then she shook her head. “Although we’ve got a huge task ahead of us putting everything back.”

“I don’t care!” Livvy laughed, sounding giddy and just the teeniest bit hysterical. “It needed a good cleaning anyway. And maybe new carpet and some paint while we’re at it!”

Kate and the volunteers gathered around and laughed. Renee had retrieved Kisses from Adam Crawford, who was directing his men as they got ready to take the demolition equipment away.

Renee said, “And we’ll all help, Livvy. I can direct the restoration of the historical room for you.”

Livvy smiled and patted Renee on the shoulder. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll decide how to handle it all in a little while.”

Behind Renee, Morty rolled his eyes.

Paul joined Kate. “We have an awful lot to be thankful for here today,” he said. “Would anyone care to pray with me for a moment?”

“Excellent idea,” said Father Lucas. He extended his hands to those on either side of him, and within minutes, a huge circle had formed in front of the library, hands clasped tightly together.

Paul pitched his voice loudly so that everyone could hear. “Dear Lord,” he began, “we thank you for this glorious day. We thank you for your divine intervention in the form of all the people who worked to save this library—”

“Especially Mrs. Hanlon,” piped up Jeremy.

Everyone chuckled, and Paul said, “Especially Mrs. Hanlon. And also Jeremy Pellman, who was brave enough to stage a peaceful protest to save his squirrels.” He continued to pray, ultimately inviting everyone to join in saying the Lord’s Prayer together.

As they prayed, Kate opened her eyes a tiny bit. Beneath her lashes, she peeked around, thanking God for this special little town.