She wanted to post everything online. I understood the temptation. The same forums that had repeated the accusations against me might respond to a photograph of the threatening note and the genuine plat. Lena advised against releasing evidence piecemeal while witnesses were still being located, especially if the posts could reveal where Elena and Derek were staying or working. Molly disliked the delay, but she accepted it after speaking directly with Elena by phone. The two women spent an hour talking about how easily strangers had believed claims designed to isolate them.
Late that afternoon, I received a call from a number with a local area code. The man identified himself as Gideon Bellamy's assistant and said he understood I had acquired an attractive parcel near the lake. Bellamy Lake Development would be interested in a conversation about purchasing it, he said, perhaps for a price that would leave me very satisfied. I asked how he had found out about the acquisition. He replied that auction results were public and his firm routinely followed land opportunities.
That answer was reasonable, and it frustrated me because it offered nothing I could challenge. I asked whether the firm had ever discussed Morrison Ranch with Raymond Voss or Christine Gray. The assistant said he was not authorized to speak about the company's third-party consultants and would have someone return the call if I wished. I told him I was not selling and did not want further solicitation. He thanked me politely and hung up, leaving me with a new possibility that was still only a possibility.
When I told Lena, she said not to read more into the call than it established. An offer to purchase property is not a crime, even when the owner is already being harassed by someone else. She noted the time, the caller's name, and the business line. She also forwarded the details to the state investigator, whose name was Avery Bell. Until that morning, I had thought Bellamy's company existed only in planning advertisements; now someone from it knew exactly where to find me.
The following day, Avery called for a preliminary interview. Her office had opened a formal inquiry based on the complaints from me, Elena, Howard, and Derek, but she emphasized that allegations would have to be checked against financial records and independent witnesses. She asked about the cashier's-check proposal Christine had raised, whether anyone had ever shown me a valid filed lien, and the identity of the business listed for payment. She sounded most interested when I explained that a supposedly delinquent account had somehow been created against a parcel the association did not govern.
Avery had already spoken to Elena and was preparing to seek relevant records through formal legal process. She cautioned me not to contact other alleged victims on behalf of the state, because investigators needed them to describe events independently. She thanked me for organizing my files and then made a point I had heard from Lena in different words.
"You don't have to prove the entire case yourself, Mr. Johnson. That's what the investigation is for. Right now we need you to be accurate and safe."