Chapter 16 - The Fence at Holloway Lane
"Don't go there alone," Sarah told Mark.
"I'm not going to fight him," Mark said. "I'm calling the sheriff. Then I'm going to stand beside Harriet."
By the time he arrived, headlights washed across the narrow path. Two workers had taken down a section of fence. A small excavator idled beside the playground. Harriet stood in the road holding her phone up, filming.
"This is trust property," she told the crew. "You have no permission to be here."
Nolan stepped out from behind a truck. "We're preparing for an approved access improvement."
"The court said you can't act on that agreement," Mark replied.
"You're not a judge."
"No. That's why I called the authorities."
A sheriff's deputy arrived minutes later and requested the crew's permits. Nolan handed over a stamped work order. The name at the bottom was Mark Bennett.
"That isn't my signature," Mark said.
"You seem to say that about everything," Nolan sneered.
The deputy checked the posted court order and contacted the county inspector. Work stopped pending verification. Nolan's crew loaded the tools while Harriet photographed the damaged fence for the trust's insurance claim.
One worker, a young man with dirt on his face, pulled Mark aside.
"They told us you approved it," he said. "I have a kid who plays here. I wouldn't have touched this place if I'd known."
"I believe you," Mark said. "Give the investigator your work order."
Nolan climbed into his truck, furious now that money couldn't make the path open. As the door swung wide, Mark saw a rolled survey map on the passenger seat. A red ribbon tied around it belonged to the storage tube his mother had kept for years.
Mark told the deputy what he'd seen.
The deputy wrote it down and said, "We'll follow up. Don't approach that vehicle."
As Nolan's truck pulled away, an envelope fell from the open side compartment. The worker retrieved it and handed it to the deputy.
May you like
Across the front, in Clara's handwriting, were three words:
PLAN B - MARK.
