Page 57 of Daddy's Protection
“This is messed up.”
“What is it?” Ace asked.
Isaiah rubbed the back of his neck. “My Little Cami doesn’t just own her house in Angelino Heights. She owns four others.”
“What? Why didn’t she mention that?” Ace pondered.
Isaiah shook his head. “That’s just it. I don’t think she knows.”
“How could she not know?” Ace asked.
Isaiah started pacing as he tried to put the puzzle pieces together. He didn’t have much room. The basement office was a tiny square and he felt claustrophobic in there, especially amid the stacks of ancient boxes with Ace and Jack.
“Remember what her aunt told us? Her attorneys handled all this for Cami and her grandmother.” He gritted his teeth as anger began to set in. “Grandma probably checked over it. She’d been around the block enough times to make sure the I’s weredotted and the T’s were crossed. But with Cami, well, they didn’t tell her about all the properties. They’re lying to her about what she owns exactly.”
Ace nodded. “That’s right. But why wouldn’t they tell Cami she has all those holdings? Do they just want to collect the rent? Or is it something else?”
“I think I have it,” Jack announced, looking up from a file he’d been reading. He pushed off the yellowed, water spot-stained wall he’d been leaning on and stepped closer to the other guys. “The Angelino Heights Improvement Company. It’s a group trying to get the neighborhood rezoned. They want to develop it.”
“But those are historic properties,” Ace pointed out. “Surely they’re protected.”
“You know how it is in this city. Unfortunately,” Isaiah said. “We tear down our history as long as there’s a chance to make a buck.” He shook his head. “The land is worth more than the history.”
Isaiah wasn’t a history aficionado per se, but the fact that many of the old structures from Hollywood’s Golden Era were gone annoyed him.
“He’s right,” Jack said. “And Angelino Heights is so close to Dodgers Stadium. If you redevelop it into a commercial and entertainment district, you’d be sitting on a gold mine!”
“Let me guess,” Ace said. “None other than Aunt Camille is part of the Improvement Company.”
Jack nodded and grinned. “You guessed it. Wanna take a stab on who else sits on the board with her?”
“Judge McConnell?”
“Bingo. Now, all they have to do is get city council on their side and they can strip the historic protection from those properties and… well… they’ll basically be printing money at that point.”
Ace shook his head. “I’m willing to bet there’s a council member on that committee.”
“You guessed it,” Jack said. “And you say you’re not a detective.”
“Hey, I normally stick to flying choppers. But this is all fitting together,” Ace replied.
Isaiah tried to control his breathing. Tension was setting in his neck and shoulders as his blood began to boil. “They convince Cami her house is haunted and maybe she sells. I’m sure Aunt Camille would be happy to buy.”
“Yep,” Jack said. “And unless Cami reads the fine print, she wouldn’t even realize she’s selling five properties for the price of one. She’d think she’s just unloading her house and nothing else.”
Isaiah was fuming now. “Shit.” He rubbed the back of his neck again. “Come on. I have a bad feeling about all this. Let’s get to the girls.”
Chapter 27
Trick-or-treaters were already out in full force, but no one had showed up to the mansion for the party yet.
“I talked to some folks back at Auntie Athena’s,” Cami said. “They probably won’t head this way until nine.”
“Sweet! That gives us time to pass out candy,” Lana said.
“I can’t wait,” Iris said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to the most. Not to bring things down, but growing up, I didn’t really get to trick-or-treat. Life just didn’t work out that way. Never could afford a costume, anyway.” She shrugged. “But this year, I’m going to give all the kids that ring our bell the best Halloween ever! The one I never got growing up. Look, I got full-size candy bars.”
The smell of chocolate was heavy in the air as she pushed a small cart toward the front door.
