The bank wouldn't give us another loan. We had no family to borrow from. And then Wade appeared. Said he could help. Said he specialized in helping veterans.
Harold served in Desert Storm. Medical Corps. Same operation you did." Garrett felt something cold settle in his stomach. " How much did Kimball lend you?" "
80,000." " Interest rate" Evelyn looked at the floor. " 38%." " Christ." Garrett ran a hand over his face. "
That's loan sharking. Illegal in Arizona. Maximum legal rate is 10%." " I know. I know that now.
But Harold was dying. He couldn't think straight. The pain medication, the chemo had made him foggy. And Wade was so kind. So understanding.
He said he'd helped dozens of veterans. Said he just wanted to give back." Her voice turned bitter. " He gave back, all right. He gave us a death sentence.
Harold didn't understand the terms. He understood we needed money. He understood the house was collateral. But the interest rate, the compound structure, the balloon payment, all that fine print Wade rushed him through, he didn't catch it. Didn't realize what he was signing.
When did Harold pass? 4 months ago, March. And that's when I learned the truth. Wade showed up a week after the funeral, said the loan was due. All of it.
80,000 plus accumulated interest. 114,000 total. Plus the 78 you owe the bank. $192,400. She said it like an execution date.
I have 31,000 in savings, 15,000 from Harold's life insurance. That's it. That's everything we have left. Wade won't take partial payment. Wade doesn't want money.
Evelyn looked up, met his eyes. He wants the house. This house is worth 285,000. He'll take it for 114,000 in debt, sell it for full value, pocket the difference. Garrett felt rage building.
The cold, controlled kind that had gotten him through combat. The kind that didn't explode, just focused. " How many others?" he asked. " What?" "
How many other people has he done this to?" Evelyn's face went pale. " You know?" " Dorothy at the diner mentioned you're not the only one." " Said Wade Kimball has a reputation.
How many, Evelyn?" She closed her eyes. " 43 families that I know of over the past 12 years. All of them veterans or veteran families. All of them desperate." "
All of them trapped in the same contract Harold signed." Her voice dropped to a whisper. " Seven of them committed suicide." " The shame of losing everything, the hopelessness." " Three marriages ended in divorce.
The rest just disappeared." " Left town, started over somewhere else if they could." " And nobody stopped him. The sheriff is his younger brother, Dalton Kimball, 48 years old, been sheriff for 6 years. Wade pays him.
I don't know how much, but enough that Dalton looks the other way, enough that complaints disappear, enough that Wade operates in this town like he owns it." Garrett stood up, paced to the window, looked out at Cottonwood Lane. Quiet street, good neighborhood, the kind of place where people trusted each other, where they didn't lock their doors, where they believed the system worked. Except the system didn't work when it was rigged. " 5 days," he said. "
That's what the notice says." " 5 days until they seize the house." " Wade will have his men here with the sheriff, legal paperwork, all proper and official." " And I'll have to leave." " 48 years in this house." "
Every memory of Harold." " Every piece of the life we built, gone." She was crying again. Quieter this time. The exhausted crying of someone who'd cried too much already.
Sarge whined, pushed his head harder against her knee. Garrett turned back from the window. " You have anyone else, family, friends who could help?" " No family. Harold was an only child, so am I. Friends, the ones who are left, they're all in the same situation." "
Living on fixed incomes." " Barely making it themselves." " What about legal help?" " I called a lawyer in Phoenix. He said I have a case." "
That the contract is probably unconscionable." " That I could fight it in court." She laughed. No humor in it. " But the retainer alone is $15,000.
And even if I win, even if the court voids the contract, that takes time, months, maybe years." " Wade will seize the house long before then." Garrett was quiet, thinking, calculating. He had money. Not a fortune, but the sale of his garage 2 years ago had brought in decent money.
Kate's life insurance, his pension, his savings. Combined, probably close to $186,000. Enough to pay off Evelyn's debts, both the bank and Wade Kimball, with enough left over to live on for a few more years until he couldn't work anymore. But handing Evelyn that money wouldn't solve the problem. She'd never take it.
Pride, independence. The same reason she'd said, "I didn't ask for help," when he pushed her wheelchair up the ramp. And even if she did take it, what about the other 43 families? What about the next desperate veteran Wade Kimball would find now? Money wasn't the answer, not alone.
The answer was stopping Wade Kimball permanently. " Evelyn," Garrett said slowly, "what if there was a way to fight him? Not just save your house, stop him completely, make sure he never does this again." She looked at him like he'd suggested flying to the moon. " There's no way." "
Wade owns this town. He has the sheriff, he has lawyers, he has money and power, and he has 43 victims who could testify against him." " He has a pattern of illegal lending." " He has evidence scattered across a dozen years if someone knew where to look." Garrett sat back down. "
What he doesn't have is people willing to stand up to him." " People tired of being afraid. People ready to fight back." " You're talking about going after Wade Kimball." Evelyn's voice was flat, disbelieving. "
You don't even know me. Why would you" "Because Sarge says you're worth protecting." Garrett looked at the dog. " And in 5 years he's never been wrong about a person, not once." Evelyn followed his gaze.
Sarge was looking back at both of them, calm now, alert but not tense, like he'd accomplished his mission, like he'd brought the right people together, and now it was up to them to do the rest. " I can't ask you to." " You're not asking. I'm offering." Garrett leaned forward. "