Building Blocks of Murder Read Online Free

Sheila,” Mayor Watkins began. “But as I told you, we’ve already voted. The building will be sold, and the developers can do what they want with it.”
    Lacy gasped. “That’s terrible,” she whispered to Tosh. “They’re not even listening. Someone needs to say something.”
    “Don’t look at me,” he said. “I’m a new pastor in this community; I’m not getting involved in local politics.”
    Before she could talk herself out of it, Lacy shot to her feet. The council looked at her in surprise. Sheila beamed.
    “Please, you can’t tear down the Stakely building,” she blurted. “Don’t you realize it’s the epicenter of our downtown, the only thing that gives us distinction? A strip mall would take away the one piece of character we have going for us.”
    Disconcerted murmurs rippled through the crowd. The mayor gave a hushing glare around the room.
    “Young lady, I can’t possibly expect you to understand the finer points of business. The wheels of progress must sometimes be greased with pain. I understand that some have a certain attachment to the Stakely building, but it’s a behemoth. The cost to renovate it, let alone keep up on it, is more than anyone is willing to pay. Right now we have a company that wants to buy it and put in profitable businesses that could bring jobs to our community. Why should we say no to that?”
    “Because as a town we would be selling our souls.” The audience gasped. Lacy wondered if this was as much excitement as a town council meeting had ever produced. “Can’t you understand that by taking the easy road, we would be cutting off our noses to spite our faces? Yes, some cheap stores will filter in when the strip mall comes, but the jobs they bring will be minimum wage at best, and the clientele those establishments attract will make the downtown a red light district.”
    The mayor wasn’t listening, Lacy could tell. He shook his head obstinately and gave her a patronizing smile. “I couldn’t possibly expect you to understand the ins and outs of business. We have an offer on the table, and good business sense tells us to accept it.”
    Lacy slumped into her chair, angrier than she had been in a long time. She hated condescension, either because of her age or her gender, and the mayor seemed to be employing both in one fell swoop.
    “Someone should do something,” she muttered. “Someone should buy that building.”
    Tosh leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Uh, Lacy, you’re a millionaire.”
    Lacy sat up in alarm and looked at Tosh. She had completely forgotten about Barbara Blake’s money. Could she do this? Could she buy this building and save it?
    She shot to her feet once again. The mayor tried to ignore her, but she spoke anyway. “How much are the developers going to pay for the Stakely building?”
    The mayor ignored her, but Sheila spoke up. “A hundred and fifty thousand.”
    “That’s it?” Lacy asked, incredulous.
    Sheila nodded sadly. “We’ve raised some support to try and buy it ourselves, but everything has happened so suddenly we only have a few thousand dollars.”
    Lacy hesitated. Should she really do what she was thinking? Tosh nudged her, urging her into action. “I’ll buy it,” she announced before she could change her mind.
    That got everyone’s attention. The mayor finally looked at her with a frown. “There’s no time for you to go through the process of trying to get a loan, if you could even get one, which I doubt.”
    “I don’t need a loan,” Lacy said. “I’ll pay for it in cash.” She tipped her chin stubbornly, aware that she was treading on dangerous ground when her pride had been lanced.
    Now the mayor looked flustered. “But we’ve already agreed to sell to the developers.”
    “Have papers been signed? Has money changed hands?” Lacy pressed.
    “Well, no, but we have a gentleman’s agreement,” the mayor hedged.
    “There are no gentlemen in business,” Lacy said, trying to sound like she