Free Love Remains by Kaye Dacus Page B

tracts of land in the four months they’ve been under injunction has dropped considerably.”
    Bobby turned to look at his new boss. “So we’re thinking they find a valuable piece of land, stop development on it through the agency, wait until the property’s value bottoms out, drop the injunction, and buy it cheap?”
    Carroll nodded. “Something like that. That’s what we want you to find out.”
    “I assume the agency’s records are public?”
    “Public, and on record at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. I expect you will want to spend part of your day Tuesday down there looking into it.”
    Bobby vaguely remembered a high school field trip to the state library. But as a sixteen-year-old jock, the idea that the dusty old place that stored the records of the state government going back more than two hundred years might one day hold valuable information for him had never crossed his mind. Back then, he had been so focused on the dream of playing professional football, as his father had, that he paid little attention to anything other than football. But then he had been arrested….
    Carroll was still talking. “…agency makes monthly reports to theMetro Council budget committee and quarterly reports to the state senate’s budget committee.”
    Though most people would find it tedious, Bobby actually enjoyed investigating government agencies—there were always more records, meaning a longer paper trail, giving him more points of access, a greater understanding of how the agency worked, and, usually, lots of evidence. “Are they completely government funded?”
    Carroll looked down at the dossier. “Not entirely. The majority of their funding comes from state and local government, but they also have plenty of federal and private grant money—and they do tons of fund-raising.”
    “Is there any evidence that any of those monies have been embezzled or used in the improper purchase of any of this land?” Only through great effort did Bobby stay seated. He was so anxious to start this investigation, he wanted to be on his feet, headed out the door to start.
    “Add that to your questions-to-be-answered list.” Carroll laced his fingers above his head and stretched as if they’d been meeting for hours already. “I figured this would be right up your alley, based on cases you closed in California. Sounds like you’re eager to get going.”
    Bobby shrugged. “It’s been a few months since I’ve had an active case.”
    “Understandable. And that’s why I wanted to bring you in today, so you can have tomorrow to formulate a plan and come up with the list of resources you might need—as well as determine if you believe this case is prime for covert infiltration.”
    Bobby pressed his lips tightly closed and ran his knuckles along his jaw. He had made the decision to leave California not just to be closer to the family but also because he was tired of the isolation and deception necessary to work undercover. Yet he did have the experience necessary to do it, and maybe that was why God had brought him here. Even so, it could be problematic that he had already told a couple dozen people he would be working for the TCIU.
    Captain Carroll clicked the remote and the projector turned off. Bobby turned his chair square to the table again.
    “So, are we talking…environmental group?” Bobby pulled a pen out of the inside pocket of his sport coat and slid the brand-new legal pad someone had been thoughtful enough to put on the table closer to take notes and start jotting down questions.
    Carroll shook his head. “Sadly, no. We couldn’t make your first case with us that easy. It’s the Middle Tennessee Historic Preservation Commission.”
    Bobby wrote the agency’s name at the top of the page, frowning. Something about that sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it immediately.
    “I will have my secretary make you a copy of the file before you leave this afternoon, though it