“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Margaret shoved the envelope through the gap beneath the chain.
“It’s all in there.”
I picked it up.
Heavy.
Maybe fifty pages.
Rachel opened the top.
Survey maps.
Emails.
Copies of signatures.
A title-company letter.
Then one document made her stop breathing.
“What?” I asked.
She handed it to me.
It wasn’t an easement.
It was a purchase agreement.
Mercer Farm.
All 612 acres.
Buyer:
North Valley Agricultural Services LLC.
Seller:
Jack Mercer.
Purchase price:
$4,200,000.
Closing date:
October 1.
Seventeen days away.
My forged signature appeared at the bottom.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part was the line beneath it.
TITLE COMMITMENT APPROVED.
The sale wasn’t a proposal.
Someone had already opened escrow.
Someone had already ordered title insurance.
Someone had already scheduled closing on my farm.
Rachel flipped to the final attachment.
Her face went completely still.
