“That would definitely be a good assumption,” I replied.
“The thing is, it’s actually quite a bit different to how things are portrayed on television. Of course there are disputes, and shady developers. But it’s a lot less exciting in real life. Shady developers usually either go broke, in which case they drive their BMWs around the corner and start up a new company, or they build a shoddy product. Either way, the parties involved end up going to court, and it’s all settled rather civilly. It’s extremely rare for a property developer to be involved in an actual violent crime.”
“And that’s what you’re doing, going to court. Can I ask what your company is suing Smith for?”
Tony Fanchini smiled, a slightly predatorial smile. “I can’t go into details for legal reasons, obviously, but I can give you the gist of it. After all, all of this is already public. One of my companies, Peacock Hills Property, is developing a new subdivision in a suburb east of here, in Springdale. Smith got wind of the plan, and bought a number of properties adjacent to the lots we purchased.”
“So?” Sophie asked. “Isn’t that totally legal?”
Tony smiled a wry smile at her. “It is. But then, after we began construction on our lots, Smith claimed that we were building on his property, and that the property line was in fact not where we thought it was. So he sued us.”
“That’s strange,” I muttered. “I didn’t hear anything about their being an active case where Smith was the plaintiff.”
“There isn’t, his case was thrown out of court three weeks ago,” Tony said. “I counter-sued as soon as he filed, but our case is still pending. We were certain to win before he died, and we’re still likely to win now. After all, we sued a company, not a person. Now we simply need to wait for the estate to be sorted, there will be delays, but I will get my money eventually. That’s the thing about people like Smith. They go to business school, they think they’re such hot stuff, and then the real world rakes them over the coals.”
“Was his business partner, Jake, involved in this?” I asked.
Tony shook his head. “No, Smith bought the land through a company where he was the sole owner. I’ve met Jacob, his business partner. He seems much smarter than Smith, and much more cautious. Less foolhardy. I imagine he refused to involve himself in this deal.”
“So Smith being dead actually complicates things for you,” I said.
“Yes, absolutely. I had an open and shut case to get damages and lawyer fees back, now it’s going to be more complex.”
“Did Smith ever try to get revenge on you after he lost his case?”
“If you’re asking if he tried to set my office on fire, no. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something planned. I saw him sneaking around near the property one night when I went out to oversee some of the construction. I called the police, but he left before they arrived so they were unable to do anything. He was too hot-headed for his own good.”
I nodded. “Ok, thanks. Let your lawyers know what I told you, if any of it can be of any use, your receptionist has my card.”
“Will do. I doubt it will help, but you never know. It was nice to meet you,” he said. I left the office feeling as though I didn’t know anything about Tony Fanchini. He had no reason to kill Matt Smith at all, and yet there was something about him that I didn’t like, something I just couldn’t quite put my finger on.
As Sophie and I got into the car, I sighed.
“Yeah, I agree,” Sophie said. “I think we just eliminated another suspect.”
“I just hope our trip to Sisters ends with a better result,” I said.
Chapter 11
Just over ninety minutes later we pulled into Sisters. I gave Sophie directions and we drove past the address where Richard Steele lived, presumably with his daughter. From the front, it looked like nothing special. An old barbed wire fence with wooden posts that looked like they’d been there at least five decades lined the front of the property. A good half dozen signs warning that it was private property and not to enter hung near the gate at the front of the property. A few large trees along the side of the road hid most of the property from view, but I could see a house in the distance.
“Maybe just keep driving,” I suggested. “I don’t think this guy is going to be happy to get visitors.”
Sophie and I drove back into downtown Sisters and parked the car on the main street. “So what are we going to do to try and figure out what’s up with this guy?” Sophie asked. “I mean, that was basically the sketchiest of sketchy farms ever, the type of place you see at the beginning of a horror movie just before a whole bunch of people die. Even those trees looked depressed.”
I laughed, but Sophie was right. It didn’t exactly look like a welcoming place, and we both knew that if the owner was keeping smuggled exotic animals there, he wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to see us.
“Turn into birds again?” I suggested. A few months ago, while trying to investigate a different murder on a farm, I’d used my magic to turn us into birds. Unfortunately, the spell turned us into the birds that most suited us, and the universe decided I should be a Steller’s Jay, the world’s most annoying bird. I knew Sophie would be thrilled with this idea; she got to be a bald Eagle.
“Definitely,” Sophie grinned. “It’s been at least two hours since I’ve heard the annoying screech of a Steller’s Jay in my ear.”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Let’s go back toward the house. We’ll park on the side of the road, but we’ll do it in the middle of nowhere so I can cast the spell without anyone seeing.”
Sophie nodded and started the car up again as we made our way back out into rural Oregon. A few minutes later we parked on the side of the road. It wasn’t the safest looking spot, and seeing as the road was barely wide enough for two cars I wasn’t sure it was even legal to park here, but oh well. We weren’t going to be long, and this didn’t exactly look like a high-traffic area.
“Ready?” I asked Sophie, who nodded. “I’ll make the spell last one hour this time. We’re not really looking for evidence of a murder after all, we’re just on a scouting mission. It’s two forty-five now, we have to be back by three forty at the absolute latest.”
“Copy that,” Sophie said, nodding.
“Reformaroa avem unum horoa,” I said, pointing a finger at Sophie. All of a sudden there was a blinding light, and when it dissipated a second later, Sophie had disappeared. Where she had been standing was now a bald eagle. She squawked at me.
“That never stops being cool,” Sophie said before flying off in direction of the farm. I smiled. It had worked!
I did the same spell again, this time pointing at myself. It felt like I was on a rollercoaster going up and down over and over. It was like my insides were swirling around inside of me. But only a second or two later, it stopped. I looked over at my blue-black wings and smiled. I was a Steller’s Jay once more.
Flying up into the trees I took a moment to appreciate the beauty of flight. It was incredible, feeling the air beneath my wings as I floated through the sky. I swooped down, then with a couple beats of my wings flew back up high, getting a perfect look at the world below. It was absolutely breathtaking.
However, I was also well aware that I only had an hour to see what was going on at the property owned by Richard Steele. It took only about two minutes to fly there–Sophie had already disappeared so I imagined for her larger wings it was even faster.
When I finally reached the property, I saw Sophie sitting in a tree overlooking everything in her eagle form. It was a large property, but most of it seemed to be abandoned. There were no cows in the pastures, only overgrown grass, and an area in the far corner that looked like it had once been a berry patch but was now long since abandoned.