“So I should be jealous then.” He said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“There’s nothing to be jealous of. Nothing ever came of those dates except a great friendship.” She said, relaxing back into his arms unconsciously.
“Okay, just checking. I have no intentions of sharing you with anyone else.” He said, planting a kiss on top of her head, then walking away.
Elizabeth didn’t know if she should be flattered or offended that he was already claiming possession of her, but then again it was a nice feeling. She’d been on her own for a long time, it might be nice to be a part of a couple. She’d always wanted a love like her parents had, but never dreamed that she might actually find it one day.
Realizing that once again she was getting ahead of herself, she finished putting the kitchen in order, then gathered her purse and notes. Donovan met her at the front door and took her hand as they walked out of the house. Her hand felt small in his large one as they made their way to his truck, which they’d decided to use today.
She guided him through the small mountain town to the area where most of the affected people lived. They pulled up in front of the Anderson’s small house which was beginning to show signs of neglect. As they got out of the car, Donovan looked around him, the neighborhood was like any you might find across America. The only difference was the mountain setting, and the fact that each house had its own solar panels.
It was a nice neighborhood, but as he looked around he realized the entire street was looking a little worn. The solar panels on the houses all looked as if they needed some repairs, the heavy snows of winter having done some damage to many of them.
“The solar panels look like they need work. Do the Anderson’s know that all they have to do is schedule an appointment with the resort and they’ll send someone to make any repairs necessary?”
“I honestly don’t know, we’ve been more concerned with the water pollution. I’ll find a way to ask them. Anything else you want me to ask?” She said, as they made their way to the front door.
“No, I’ll let you take the lead and stay in character.” He said, joining her on the porch.
Elizabeth rang the bell, which was answered almost immediately by a woman who looked tired but happy to see her. “Elizabeth, it’s so good to see you. It’s been a while. Oh, you have someone with you. Come in you two.” She said, pulling Elizabeth into the house.
“I’m sorry about that Mrs. Anderson, I’ve been working on the case, but I just need to get one more set of water samples. You haven’t been using the water have you?”
“No, we’ve been using the bottled water you got for us, it’s a pain, but we have both started to feel better since we stopped drinking the well water. Come into the living room, Norman wants to see you. I’ll get us some refreshments.” She said, leading them to the back of the house and a room with a beautiful view of the mountains.
It was so hot in the room that Donovan had a difficult time breathing, but once he got a look at the man sitting in the chair by the window he understood why. The man looked terrible, he had no color in his face and had clearly lost a great deal of weight. Once they were seated and the introductions had been made, Elizabeth took the lead.
“How are you feeling Mr. Anderson?” Elizabeth asked.
“Well, since we’ve stopped drinking the water, I think I’m getting better. The doctors seem to think so, but I still can’t do the things I used to.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to make things easier? I noticed your solar panels could use some maintenance. Would you like me to call and schedule that appointment for you?”
“No, I’m embarrassed to say so, but we just don’t have the money for the maintenance fee. The doctor’s bills have been eating up all our money, most of our savings is gone. We have enough to get by, but nothing more.” He said, shaking his head.
“When we moved here, I thought this was the perfect place to live. I didn’t mind being forced to use solar power or some of the other requirements, but now it feels like Terrell Industries has abandoned us.”
Elizabeth could feel Donovan’s muscles tensing up as the man talked. She knew that this was going to be hard for him, it was never easy to hear bad things about something you loved and were proud of. But, Donovan needed to hear this, knowing that what he thought of reality in Pleasant Valley was much different than the truth.
“I’m working on some of that, the law suit should help with those medical bills and some of your other expenses, but it’s going to take some time. If you can just hang on for another month or so, I think we should have some kind of solution.”
“Well, it’s not like we have any choice. We can’t sell the house the way it is, we can’t even move away since we own so many user taxes to the city.”
Again she felt Donovan tense beside her, she looked at him to find a puzzled look on his face. “Mr. Anderson, you’ve never told me about city taxes.” She said, feeling Donovan relax next to her.
“It’s just another way for Terrell Industries to make money I think. We pay taxes on just about everything, including the water that we can’t drink. Would you believe they say it’s for maintenance on the wells.” He said, with a snort.
Elizabeth could feel the anger radiating from Donovan and didn’t know how much longer she could keep him quiet. Thankfully, Mrs. Anderson came back into the living room with hot coffee and cookies, distracting them from the conversation.
“Here you go, hot coffee and something sweet to keep you going. I made them myself from an old family recipe.” She said, handing refreshment around.
They made small talk for a few minutes, but Elizabeth knew that not only did they have a lot of other people to see that day, but that Donovan was about to explode. She wasn’t sure what the source of his discomfort was, but knew that she needed to get him out of there.
“Thank you for the coffee and cookies, which are about the best I’ve ever tasted, but we have a lot of people to visit today. Could we get our water samples now?”
“Of course, my dear. I’ll let you do it on your own. You know the house, take your time, we’re not going anywhere.” She said, looking like getting coffee and cookies had completely exhausted her.
They finished their coffee, then gathered their testing kit and went into the kitchen first. Donovan was still visibly upset, but kept his mouth shut, when she knew he really wanted to explode. They made quick work of getting the samples they needed, thanked the Anderson’s and left. Once in the truck, Donovan was no longer able to control his anger.
“That was more difficult than you thought it would be, wasn’t it?” Elizabeth asked, as Donovan started the truck.
“You have no idea. I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry before. What is going on up here? None of this is part of the vision that my grandfather had for this town. It’s named Pleasant Valley for a reason.”
She remained silent as he drove out of the subdivision and onto the highway. She wanted to ask where he was going, but felt that silence might be the best thing right now. His jaw clenched, Donovan took them on a winding path of dirt roads until they reached the top of a rise, where he parked the truck and turned off the engine.
The view from the rise was spectacular. Looking one way, Elizabeth could see the mountains and their snow covered peaks. The view the other way was of Pleasant Valley, the little town looking picture perfect from up here. The resort provided the back drop, its ski slopes covered in white, snow machines blasting more of the white stuff.
Elizabeth was silent, letting Donovan calm down, thankful that his anger wasn’t directed at her. Finally he broke the silence. “Something is very wrong in town, this whole thing is bigger than we thought it was. There’s no doubt in my mind that someone or more accurately, several someone’s are involved in this.”
“I think I’m missing something.” Elizabeth said, confused.
“When you moved into your house, what were
you told about the solar panels?” He asked, curious to know what she’d been told.
“That they were required by Terrell Industries so they could use the extra for the resort. I think they gave me a booklet with information about scheduled maintenance but I haven’t really looked at it. The previous owner left them in good shape and I’ve only lived there for a little while.”
“I want to see that booklet when we get back to your house. What is bothering me is that the Anderson’s said that they had to pay for the maintenance, it’s supposed to be free. Please tell me that you didn’t pay extra for the solar, because all the panels were supplied by the resort in exchange for any extra power they produce.”
“Honestly I don’t know. I wanted the house so I bought it, I had all the inspections done but I wasn’t really concerned with the solar panels, they just seemed like a bonus.” She said, still confused.
“My grandfather was a bit of a visionary, he saw the potential of solar energy long before the rest of the world, certainly long before anyone here did. His goal when he built the resort and town was to have them completely independent from the main electrical grid at some point.” He said, taking a deep breath, finally getting control of his temper.
“Any excess power is diverted to the resort, which you can imagine has a large power need. It took nearly 50 years to see his vision come true. We’ve spent millions of dollars on research and development and produced some of the best solar panels on the market.”
“I knew about your successes in solar energy, but I still don’t understand why you’re so upset.” She said, still puzzled by his anger.
“The town isn’t supposed to pay a penny for the solar panels. We have a whole division that deals with maintenance and replacement of the solar panels, for free. Now I hear that the residents are being asked to pay for it.”
They were silent for a few minutes as Elizabeth process this information. “So, someone is collecting fees from the town’s people illegally.”
“Not only that, Pleasant Valley doesn’t have any municipal taxes. But from what I heard people are paying for things like water, that’s not supposed to happen either. It’s like everything my grandfather started has been destroyed.”
“I’m sorry Donovan, I didn’t know about any of this. As a new resident I just expected to pay some taxes, that’s how it’s done everywhere else.”
“In the early days, before the town grew, we did have the residents pay some taxes, but once the resort was up and running those fees were suspended and paid by the resort.”
“Your grandfather created a little utopia in the middle of the Colorado mountains. Quite an accomplishment, except that as usual someone found a way to ruin a good thing.”
Donovan slammed his hand onto the steering wheel in frustration, making the whole truck rock. “I am going to find out who did this and kill them myself. How the hell did this happen and on my watch too.”
Elizabeth had no answer to his question, so she stayed silent, letting him work through his frustration. “So this changes this doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it definitely means that several people are involved. Someone is collecting taxes and fees, that can’t be easy to hide, but I’ve seen no evidence of it. In fact the mayor just asked me for more money to maintain the solar panels. We need to follow the money trail, that’s how we’re going to find out who’s behind this.”
“It seems logical that the best place to start is the mayor. Couldn’t he pull off something like this, he’s certainly in a position to do so.”
“My thoughts exactly, I need to talk to Charles, but first I want to see some more of the town.” Donovan said, starting the truck and pulling back onto the dirt road.
The rest of the day was spent visiting other people who had been victims of the polluted water and now it appeared the unlawful collection of taxes and fees. Everywhere Donovan looked there was evidence of the decline of the neighborhoods, with one exception. When they drove through the subdivision that contained the most expensive houses, it was clear that not only were the properties better kept, but that these houses were the only ones that had the newest solar panels on them.
“Everyone was supposed to have these new panels by now, but my people told me that there were some problems with them, but now I see them in use. This just gets worse and worse.”
Elizabeth had no reply, it was clear that Donovan was devastated by what he’d discovered. “I think we’ve had enough for one day, let’s go home. I’ll make some dinner and you can make some phone calls. I know this has been hard, but at least now you have a better picture of what we’re up against.” She said, putting her hand on his arm, hoping to give him some comfort.
“And it’s not a pretty picture, is it? This is my fault, I thought I could handle all this on my own, but obviously I can’t. I feel so stupid.” He said.
“We’ll figure it out. Other than the water pollution, the rest is fixable, that’s what I do best.” She said.
Donovan was silent the rest of the ride home, but Elizabeth knew he was stewing inside. Hopefully, she thought, talking to Charles would help, action often made a problem seem smaller. The minute they walked into the house, Donovan went immediately to his bedroom to call Charles.
Chapter 6
She could hear his voice through the door, but couldn’t make out his exact words. It was clear that he was upset because several times his voice rose, allowing her to make out a few words. Deciding that the best things she could do was fix them something to eat, she headed to the kitchen to put together a simple meal.
When Donovan came out of the bedroom it was clear that he was still upset. “Charles is going to start digging a little deeper, he’s also going to schedule maintenance on your solar panels and trace the path of the money. But other than that, I don’t know what else to do.”
“Well, at least it’s a start.” She said, bringing him a plate of food.
“Thanks, but I’m not very hungry.” He said, picking at his food.
“You’ll feel better tomorrow. Do you still want to make the visits we have scheduled? I can cancel them.”
“No, I need to know what these people need to make them more comfortable. I’ve put Daphne in charge of finding a way to help without our name being involved. Looks like a lot of people are going to be winning sweepstakes and experiencing billing mistakes.”
“See, that’s a positive thing. You’re already making a difference.”
“Somehow it just doesn’t seem like enough, these people shouldn’t even be in this position to begin with. How do I fix all the pain and sickness they’ve already experienced?” He said, pushing his plate away, the food unfinished.
Elizabeth knew she needed to tread carefully, but she was beginning to get tired of his feeling sorry for himself and the mess that had been created.
“I know it’s hard to find that people you thought you could trust have violated that trust, but you have to move forward or you’ll never make it through tomorrow.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t just seen your whole life’s work crumbled because of someone’s greed.”
“I hardly think the situation is that bad. When this is all over, you can put everything back the way it’s supposed to be, feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to help.”
“That’s way too easy for you to say. You’ve always been successful, every time you’ve set out to stop someone, you’ve been successful.” He said, getting up from the table and pacing around the kitchen.
Elizabeth was fed up with Donovan feeling sorry for himself, this wasn’t about him. It was about the people who were sick from contaminated water. “What do you know about my life? In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t about you. It’s about the people who have been hurt, made sick, and now I understand paid money to the town they weren’t supposed to.”
“I know that, but....” Donovan tried to explain, but Elizabeth stalked out of the room.
She came back a few minute
s later, a stack of photographs in her hand. “You want to see what my life was like?” She said, waving the pictures in his face. “Look at this. This is what happens when they clear the rainforest, everything burned to the ground. Never mind that these were the hunting grounds for the native population of the area, it was gone in a matter of hours and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
She continued flipping thought the photos, shoving them at him as she explained how she failed in each and every instance. When she’d given him the last one, she got right in his face and said, “Stop babying your ego and feeling sorry for yourself. You had a hand in creating this mess, but what is going to count in the end is how you deal with it now.” She said, her chest heaving with anger and frustration.
Donovan just stared at Elizabeth for a minute, her face was flushed and her chest was rising and falling as she fought her anger at him. Suddenly it was very clear to him that she was right, he was more concerned that he’d let someone get something as huge as this over on him.
Before he could even think about what he was doing, he dropped the pictures on the table and grabbed Elizabeth and kissed her. All his anger and frustration poured out of him, transformed into a passion that reverberated straight into her body. She kissed him back meeting his tongue stroke for stroke, unable to do anything else.
What had been anger and frustration had quickly turned to passion and Donovan was helpless to stop it when Elizabeth responded the way she did. Her arms had gone around him as she tried to get closer to him, her soft curves were pressed against him, inflaming him even further. His hands roamed over her body as he backed her against the counter, effectively trapping her where she stood.
Elizabeth was conscious of nothing but what Donovan’s hands and mouth were doing to her, each nerve in her body aware of his hard body pressed against hers. Some part of her knew that he was only releasing all his anger and frustration, but she didn’t care. It felt much too good to even think about stopping.
Make Me Whole (Brothers From Money #3) Page 6
