Free Look Both Ways by Joan Early

unified.”
    Her usually sharp answers became ambiguous and Price began to squirm.
    Several employees praised her viewpoints and Susan thanked them, all the while knowing Price would attempt to undermine her whenever possible. She would just have to work around him. She and Angie continued combing through loan files for properties in Cedargrove Heights and comparisons, and Susan scanned the papers for stories, anything she could find, on Rev. Willard Cartwright. When she found an article showing him attending a rally to protest capital punishment, she clipped the picture and kept it in her briefcase. It was not a good likeness, but she didn’t need one. His face was indelibly etched in her mind.
    She and Travis attended a late-evening ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new branch office, and afterwards, Travis invited her to a dinner. They went to a soul food restaurant that happened to be in Cedargrove Heights. Susan decided to involve Travis in her new project.
    “A business acquaintance informed me of an opportunity to increase Sealand’s loan portfolio. Winning a bid to share in a large federal housing development will place Sealand in competition with other lenders for a sizable loan commitment. I’m especially interested because the project is aimed at low-income and first-time homebuyers. It might be a purposeful endeavor for this area. What do you think?”
    “Are you concerned about this area because of Rev. Cartwright’s accusations?”
    “Yes and no. No, because I’m not intimidated by his accusations, and yes, because he brought Cedargrove Heights to my attention. Why are you asking?”
    “I know he’s been in to see you, but I didn’t know why until Price brought it up at the meeting. He’s always begging on behalf of those people who never make payments on time. Maybe if they dropped a little less in his collection plate, they could pay their bills. Did he question one of my appraisals again?”
    His defensiveness came as a surprise, but she had no intention of revealing what she had learned.
    “What do you mean—again?”
    “Price told me Cartwright had questioned the value I put on a property out there. A foreclosure. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I’m good at what I do. I have every designation the state offers for appraisers, and I take my job very seriously. I also know I have a reputation for being Price’s boy, and that’s a damn lie. Yes, I’m grateful to him for bringing me to Sealand. Having a set salary each month is better than working extremely hard and still not making as much money. But I’m my own man.”
    She shrugged. “I just arrived, remember? That makes me a minority in more ways than two. Everyone here knows more about this situation than I do. I shouldn’t have mentioned work tonight, so let’s forget it.”
    “I don’t mind talking about it. I liked your speech about being a more cohesive group, but that’s never been the policy. On more than one occasion, Price has directed us to keep mum about certain things in our area. Since I have no desire to stir the fire, I’ve stayed pretty much to myself. I don’t know much about anything other than my own area, but I do know Price is as self-serving as they come. I say that without reservations.”
    “Well, if it’s any consolation, Rev. Cartwright did not question your appraisal, at least not to me.” She had looked forward to a relaxing evening and regretted mentioning Sealand, especially after Travis continued justifying the quality of his work.
    “It’s hard to explain to people that the house they purchased four years ago isn’t worth half of what they paid for it because two neighboring properties were foreclosed. Values are much better than they were in the eighties; they’ve increased from the nineties, but there are still some soft spots. I don’t control the economy. Even the government can’t seem to do that.”
    It was the cue she had been waiting for. “Speaking of government, tell