Nessa knew she’d just finished thinking about how annoyed she was and had contradicted herself, but the reality of it was that if the couple owned the land, they could do whatever they wanted with it.
“That’s what they claim, but I went down to the old HOA and asked some questions. I don’t think they own as much as they think they do. Come,” she said, gesturing for Nessa to follow her. “Do you see this? If you look around, they might own up to here.” She pointed. “But they do not own anything of mine, and I intend to do whatever I have to do to prove it.”
Nessa let a forced smile reach her face, but what Melanie had said sounded terrible. A man had just been killed because he was trying to protect what he thought he owned.
“What did you find out when you asked about it?” Nessa wanted to know. Maybe she’d be able to find out from Melanie who was still part of that group Bizzie had told her about without actually having to wait for Bizzie to tell her.
“Alana and Clifford, the head honchos over there, seem to think that they’ve done nothing wrong. They claim to have put invitations in everyone’s mailbox.”
“Invitations for what?” Nessa asked, seeing that Melanie didn’t always provide the proper amount of information when telling a story.
“To come talk about that land Joy and Raymond think they bought. Apparently, there was some sort of gathering to discuss what would happen to the land. Whoever owned it originally passed away and willed the land to the now dissolved HOA. All these years later, Alana and Clifford decide that it’s time to do something with it.”
“I never got an invitation,” Nessa said.
“My point exactly. If you ask me, Alana and Clifford only told Joy and Raymond, and that’s why they bought it. They were the only ones who knew.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.” Nessa frowned.
“Precisely. And now they are putting signs all over the place like they own the entire neighborhood.”
“Why would Alana and Clifford lie, though? What would be the benefit of only telling one couple about the potential sale?”
“Beats the heck outta me, but my best guess is because they’re friends. I know Joy and Raymond go to those meetings sometimes. I have a friend that goes to some, too. She used to live around here but moved across town. She still goes because she was friends with these people for years, and likes to spend time with them.”
“What did she tell you?” Nessa asked, still missing key details.
“Just that Joy and Raymond attend the gatherings. I’ve never been invited. Have you?” Melanie demanded.
“I haven’t, but I also haven’t lived here very long. And from what I know, those gatherings are just a bunch of people that used to be part of the homeowner association board or whatever. I don’t see why I would be invited.”
“Fine, but we should have all been invited to talk about the sale of that land. You can’t argue with me there.”
Melanie was right. She couldn’t and wouldn’t argue. Had Nessa known about the sale, there was a good chance she would have bought the land herself. After all, she owned the largest piece of property in the neighborhood, and most of the purchased land was directly across the street from her house.
“I agree. We should have all been there. But it is what it is now. There’s nothing we can do but deal with it and hope they let us use the docks and the water access.”
“Hope! Hope! How about they’d better? I’m going to get to the bottom of this if it’s the last thing I do,” Melanie complained.
Nessa didn’t want to be part of whatever nonsense Melanie was about to be up to, but she still wanted to stay informed.
“Well, if you hear anything, please let me know.”
“Can you be trusted?” Melanie asked, surprising Nessa.
“Uhh. I think so,” Nessa said.
Melanie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t sound so confident.”
“I mean, yes. Yes, I can be trusted. Why? What do you know?” Nessa asked.
Melanie gave her a look. “Nothing yet, but I need to make sure that you aren’t working for the other side.”
The other side? Nessa had half a mind to think that Melanie and Ranger were somehow related. Ranger Shine was paranoid and as awkward as they came, always thinking someone was out to get him and everyone else.
“The other side?”
“Yeah. You know, Percy’s side.”
Nessa’s jaw dropped. Percy was dead, and Melanie was still going on about whatever gardening issue they’d had like it mattered even one iota. She remembered when she’d talked to Percy, and she mentioned that he stay on his side and she stay on hers, but he didn’t like that idea. He said there were no sides, but Melanie didn’t feel the same.
“I don’t take sides,” Nessa said.
“I saw you talking to him, and I saw that goofy friend of yours watching me the other day. You tell her to mind her own business, and I’ll tell you what I know. Agree?”
Nessa nodded, although unsure why. “Okay.”
She watched Melanie walk away, having not bothered to even say goodbye. Nessa had been shocked speechless. Melanie was by far one of the strangest people she’d ever met, and now, she was lucky enough to have her as a next door neighbor. She was still trying to decide which was worse, Bizzie or Melanie.
Chapter Eight
Nessa had purchased three different types of cushions for her outdoor lounge chairs and couldn’t decide which she liked best. She put one set on, then stepped back, admiring it, then did the same with the other two. When she switched back to the first set, a man’s voice startled her.
“I like the blue ones.”
Nessa turned, seeing Raymond just steps away from her. She wasn’t sure which bothered her more. That he was there, or that she’d been so unaware of her surroundings, that she’d had no idea until he was mere feet from her.
“Hello, Raymond. What are you doing here?” Nessa asked.
“Sorry for coming in this way. It’s just that I saw you talking to Melanie a bit ago, and I didn’t want her to see me coming over here.”
Nessa took the blue cushions off and chose the salmon-colored ones instead. She also preferred the blue but wasn’t going to let Raymond think he was right. At least not now.
“Okay, but what are you here for?” Nessa asked again, this time trying to be more clear with her question.
“I know you saw the signs we put up, and I wanted to explain,” Raymond began, waiting for her reply.
“Go ahead.” Nessa nodded.
“We want to let you know that we don’t mind if you still use the docks and the water access. The signs aren’t meant for you,” Raymond explained.
Nessa thought she understood. “So, it’s for the general public who comes around thinking they can just get to the lake from here.”
“Well, no. It’s just not for you. Or your friend there, that young girl you moved in. We wanted you to know.”
Nessa barely knew Raymond, and while she appreciated him letting her know that she wasn’t banned from using things, she didn’t understand why.
“Thank you, but why? You can’t possibly mean that we’re the only ones.”
“Bizzie can come and go as she pleases, and we told Dart and Jill down the road the same thing. I don’t think they’re very fond of us, though, so I highly doubt they’ll actually ever use it. We told them they were more than welcome to.”
“So, then it’s just Melanie who can’t come around?” Nessa hated to have to ask the question, but things were too weird not to.
“We prefer that Melanie stay away, yes. We heard how she likes to take things over that don’t belong to her,” Raymond said.
Unable to help herself, Nessa blurted, “I’m pretty sure those bushes if that’s what you’re talking about, belong to her. She had a survey done and wouldn’t have been able to put up a fence without a permit and an inspection from the town. They wouldn’t have let her put it up on someone else’s property.”
“I see yo
u have quite the stance.”
“Not really. I’m not picking sides as there are no sides to pick. I’m simply stating facts. Maybe it wasn’t fair that she had it done back when she bought the house and waited months to tell anyone about it, but to be fair, no one noticed it happening either.”
“For what it’s worth, Percy wouldn’t have been allowed on our property either. I, too, do not pick sides.”
“You just don’t like either of them?” Nessa asked.
“Never did.” Raymond shrugged. “Percy is gone, and while that’s a real shame, I won’t be sad to see his boat finally leave my property.”
“Wow.”
“You misunderstood.”
“No, I don’t think I did.” Nessa shook her head. “It sounds to me like you aren’t being very kind and that you expect all of your neighbors to be okay with the fact that you purchased this land without telling any of us.”
“I’m telling you now, and in case you forgot, I also said that you could use whatever you want,” Raymond shot back.
“I think maybe it’s best that I stay away, too. I wouldn’t want to get on your bad side,” Nessa, completely over this man, said.
“I don’t know why you insist on being so rude. I came over here to tell you something that I thought was helpful.”
“First of all, you snuck over here so Melanie didn’t see you. Second, you’re acting like you’re doing me a favor by essentially telling me you dislike me less than you dislike everyone else in the neighborhood. It seems to me like you’re letting me use your land simply because you want to rub it in Melanie’s face that I can and she can’t.”
“We don’t even know each other,” Raymond began.
“That’s the point that I’m trying to make. We don’t know each other, but you came all the way over here in secret to tell me that I can use your land. Thank you for that. I appreciate the offer because, under normal circumstances, it would be a nice thing to do for someone, but this isn’t normal, and you know that. I don’t want to be some pawn in whatever game you’re playing.”
“You have a mouth on you just like Percy did. So, do you know what I’m going to do now? I’m going to take back my offer. If I see you on my property, you’re going to regret it.”
Nessa extended her patience as far as it would go. To her, that sounded an awful lot like a threat, and since Percy had just been murdered, she didn’t take it lightly.
“Funny, because from where I’m standing, you’re on my property right now, and I don’t remember inviting you to be here. I think it’s time for you to go, Raymond.”
They had a short stare-down, and Raymond finally went on his way, leaving Nessa feeling angrier than ever.
Chapter Nine
Nessa had never been more thankful to be back at work. She was in the office, working on a dry goods order, when her grandfather popped his head in the doorway.
“Nessa, someone is here to see you.”
She looked up. “Really? Who is it?”
“It’s a woman named Alana, but she won’t tell me why she’s here. Do you want me to send her back?” Lex asked.
“Sure.”
Nessa had heard the name from Melanie when they were talking the day before, but she didn’t know why Alana would be there to see her.
“Hi. You must be Nessa,” an older woman said, standing in the doorway.
“That’s me. Come on in.”
Nessa told the woman to sit and asked if she wanted anything to drink, trying to remember her manners no matter how badly she wanted to know what was going on.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve heard a few stories now, and I think I should clear things up.”
“Okay.” Nessa settled into her chair and nodded.
“I’m Alana Webster, and I live on Lake View Terrace. It’s not too far from where you live.” Alana smiled.
Nessa knew that trick. When you wanted to butter someone up, you would begin with something you had in common with the other person. It would give them more of a reason to relate.
“Okay,” Nessa said again, refusing to say too much before she knew why Alana was there.
“I’m not sure if you know, but our neighborhood used to be part of a homeowners association. It’s no longer in existence, and quite frankly, I’m sad about that. Anyway, I was told that a few of my neighbors never received the invitation to meet about the land that Joy and Raymond Fleming bought. You see, I personally went door to door and put invitations in everyone’s mailbox. I hoped everyone would come down to the hall on Lagoon Drive and meet with Clifford and me.”
“Meet with you about what? Were you discussing the sale?” Nessa asked.
“Clifford and I decided that it would be best to sell the land. We’ve been holding onto it for so long, and since no one seems interested in ever getting the HOA back up and running, I figured it was silly to let a non-existent entity own something. We had to sell it, and the only people that showed up were Joy and Raymond. Right away, they said they wanted to buy it, and so, we went the following day to the bank and started the process.”
“Didn’t you think it was odd that no one else came?”
Alana furrowed her brows. “I suppose, but Joy and Raymond are my friends, and I knew they’d treat the area well. I couldn’t deny them. After all, I did invite everyone. It’s not my fault they didn’t come.”
Alana had a point. If she’d invited people and they didn’t show up, that wasn’t her fault, but it still didn’t seem right that she’d invited everyone, and not a single person came but Joy and Raymond.
“You’re certain you gave out the invitations?” Nessa asked.
“Of course.”
“Did anyone know what the meeting was about beforehand? Before you sent out the invitations, I mean.”
“Not that I know of, but I suppose Clifford may have told someone. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I was just thinking about how odd it was that no one came, and I wondered if it was possible that someone found out about it and then went and removed the invitations after you dropped them off.”
“You mean someone went behind me and took them out of the mailboxes?” Alana asked.
“Basically, yes.”
“Who the heck would do that?”
“I have no idea. It was just a thought.”
Nessa’s first inclination was that Joy or Raymond had known about the reason for the invite because they were friends with Alana. She could have told them in advance, and then when they saw her deliver the invitations, they went behind her and took them all. Of course, she wasn’t going to mention that to Alana.
“I suppose.” Alana frowned.
“When did you drop them off? What time of day?”
“I did it very early in the morning. Unless you’re up with the chickens, you’d never have seen me, but every morning I take a walk, and I usually start at four fifteen. I get back home around five. I took the invitations with me in a messenger bag and dropped them all off very early. Actually, I left even earlier that day because I knew I’d need to hit every house. I’d say it was about three forty five or so when I started.”
“That is early.” Nessa couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of some woman going house to house that early.
“Yes, but our mail comes early, and I wanted to make sure that everyone saw their invitation when they went to get the mail.”
“That makes sense.”
Nessa thought it was possible that even if Joy and Raymond hadn’t known about the land before the meeting, they certainly could have been up early, checked the mail for some reason and found the invitation. They then could’ve gone around and removed them all so they’d be the only ones to show up, but it seemed farfetched, even for her active imagination.
“Thanks for coming to let me know about the invitations,” Nessa said. “I’ll admit that I was feeling a little left out. I know I’m new to the area, but I’d have loved to have the opportunity to buy it myself. This is a great neighb
orhood, and while I know you’re upset about the missing homeowners association, I also know that it’s still a nice area. Back home, I lived in one, and it was great, but this is good, too.”
“Thanks for the kind words, but I should be going. I’ve held you up long enough, and ever since I walked in here, the cupcakes have been calling my name. I must go order some to take home.”
Nessa thanked Alana for coming and got back to work, all the while her mind was on everything going on in her neighborhood.
Chapter Ten
“It was her. She did it. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Bizzie said, putting down the boxes of cookies she’d carried in from her car.
Nessa helped her unload the boxes and made sure everything she ordered was there. “How can you be sure?”
“Melanie walks her cat every morning. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.”
“So, you think she was out walking her cat, saw Alana putting things in people’s mailboxes, then went around snooping to see what it was, then walked her cat to every single house to take the invitations out, just so no one would know about the sale?”
“Yes. That’s what I said.”
Nessa had said and done a lot of strange things in her life, and she’d even seen others do way worse, but this one took the cake.
“Isn’t that a little, ohhh, I don’t know, odd?” Nessa asked, stealing a cookie from the box.
“The woman walks her cat on a leash, for crying out loud. She’s got odd written all over her.”
“I see what you’re saying, but it makes just as much sense that Joy and Raymond found it first because they wake up early, especially since they’re the ones who ended up buying the land. What reason would Melanie have to take them?”
“Other than the fact that she hates us all and thinks we were on Percy’s side, nothing.” Bizzie shrugged and held out the invoice for Nessa.
Nessa took the invoice, looking it over, and nodded. “Maybe. She did say something about choosing sides to me, too. I told her there weren’t really any sides to take now, and I’m not sure I would have chosen one even if there were. I get that they cared about it, but it has nothing to do with me. I’m sorry that fence got put up, but that’s about the end of it for me. I don’t know anything about gardens or plants or whatever.”
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