Chapter 12 - NINETEEN ADDRESSES
The flash drive from St. Anne's held invoices, bank confirmations, and a spreadsheet titled COMMUNITY OPTIMIZATION. Jessica opened it in the presence of an independent forensic examiner, who preserved a verified copy for the investigation.
Nineteen addresses appeared, each beside a projected sale price. Hope House was first. The other eighteen were scattered from Dallas to Tulsa. Several were shelters built with restricted donations; none had been intended for commercial development.
“Whoever prepared this had access to our donors and real estate files,” Hannah said. “But look at the column labeled 'vacancy strategy.'”
Food reductions. Delayed repairs. Safety complaints. Planned closures.
Damon read the words twice. The missing meals weren't incidental theft. They were a way to empty buildings before buying them cheaply.
“We created a hunger problem,” he said, “and then sold the solution.”
“You didn't know,” Jessica said.
“I didn't check.”
“That distinction matters. It doesn't erase the responsibility.”
Carmen joined them with Sofia, who had insisted her sister eat a sandwich first. She pointed to a list of employee names.
“People who complained got fired. Some took settlements. Some are still sleeping on relatives' couches because the centers closed.”
The accountant Benjamin Park was listed as TERMINATED. Another line beside his name read TRANSFER PENDING.
Hannah searched old calendar invitations. Ben had requested a meeting with Damon six weeks earlier, marking it urgent. Damon's assistant had passed the request to Elisa's office after being told that all foundation matters belonged there.
Damon remembered deleting the invitation during an airport layover.
“Find him,” he said quietly.
Jessica's phone rang. The caller was the county property clerk.
“The objection held the transfer for now,” she reported, “but Northshore has produced a second document. They're claiming the shelter failed its safety inspection.”
Ruth stared at the screen. “That's impossible. The inspector hasn't been inside for three months.”
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“Then someone,” Jessica replied, “has forged a government report.”
