Free Silver Six Crafting Mystery 01 - Basket Case by Nancy Haddock

you’re on county land.”
    “How many acres are the farms?”
    “Twenty each, I should think, except a bit of Stanton Lake cuts through the end of each parcel, so not a full twenty acres.”
    “Stanton Lake?”
    “Named after our ancestors. Samuel Allan Stanton owned all the land here on Eleanor’s sketch and much more. Granddaddy W. R. Junior sold off parcels in the 1920s and late 1930s when oil was found hereabouts. Those were Lilyvale’s boom eras back when the oil workers moved in for a spell.”
    “Are there houses on Lake Stanton?”
    “There could be a cabin here or there. It’s not a recreational lake with boating and fishing for the public. Lake Stanton is more of an extra-large pond.”
    Nixy looked at Eleanor. “Did these farmers sell property options?”
    “Elsman talked to them all, but just one sold. He didn’t figure the county zoning folks would approve whatever she planned, so he saw it as free money.”
    “Same with two ladies a block over,” Maise supplied. “But three couples in the same block turned Elsman down flat.”
    “Some property owners are absentee,” Aster chimed in, pointing at the map. “In this block far catty-corner from Sherry are duplexes and an apartment building. Eleanor and I talked to a renter, but he pays a management firm. Oh, but Elsman approached Ida Bollings. She rents out a house up the street.”
    “Miss Ida?” I asked. “Does she drive a big blue Buick?”
    Sherry smiled. “How do you know Ida, child?”
    “She sent me into the pharmacy for her medicine yesterday morning.”
    “She does that from time to time,” Sherry said. “I’ll bet she gave Elsman the sharp edge of her tongue, too.”
    Aster smiled. “She sure did. Elsman threatened to steal Ida’s rental house out from under her by paying the back taxes. Of course, Ida is sure she paid the property taxes, so she’ll be raising a ruckus at city hall tomorrow.”
    “Good for her.” I typed on my tablet. “All right, a city block is a little over six acres, so that’s thirty-six acres plus close to sixty acres in the farms. Nearly one hundred acres in all, and around forty landowners. That’s a lot of cash layout, but the big question is, why would she want so much land?”
    “What about a big-box store?” Dab asked. “We hear rumors about that from time to time.”
    “We hear about Magnolia getting one,” Maise drawled. “Not us.”
    “It’s worth a look,” I said, already typing a search on the tablet. I felt all eyes watching as I went through several possibilities, then looked up. “Most stores like Walmart only need thirty acres for a typical store site.”
    “Maybe Elsman is planning to build a factory,” Eleanor mused.
    “To make what?” Dab said. “We have some light industry here, but most of the forestry and manufacturing concerns are over at Magnolia.”
    “One of them could be expandin’,” Fred offered.
    “From what I see,” I said, “between the options, actually buying the properties, and then permits and building costs, a developer would have to be pretty darn sure the project would return a small fortune.”
    Sherry snorted. “Lilyvale is a nice little town, with light industry adding to our tax base, but it’s no place to make a fortune.”
    The kitchen again fell silent for a moment.
    “Do we need a plan of action?” Dab asked. “Sherry, you mentioned having a meeting of the neighbors.”
    “We could do that, just so everyone knows where everyone else stands.”
    “How about holding the meeting Tuesday afternoon?” Aster said. “We need to clean the parlor tomorrow anyway.”
    “I’ll make snacks,” Maise declared.
    “Sherry and I can make the calls,” Eleanor added.
    “But Nixy has to leave on Tuesday,” Sherry put in.
    “So what?” Fred barked. “She won’t be here to see this through anyhow.”
    “Now, Fred, you know Nixy has a job she needs to get home for.”
    “She has vacation time, doesn’t she?” he groused.
    “Not