Chapter 11 - The Dawn Gathering
Dawn broke over the Cumberland Plateau in shades of bruised purple and pale gold. The mist hung heavy in the hollows, wrapping the hemlocks in white cotton.
By seven o'clock, the roar of multiple engines echoed up the gravel lane once more. This time, however, it wasn't the menacing hum of private SUVs.
Four patrol cruisers from the Knox County Sheriff's Department led the convoy, their blue lights flashing silently against the trees. Behind them came Harry Collins’ battered green sedan, followed by an unmarked government suburban bearing the seal of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and a flatbed tow truck.
I stood on the porch with a hot mug of black coffee in my hand. Sarah stood beside me, fresh from two hours of sleep on Margaret’s sofa, dressed in a sharp wool coat and carrying her legal binders.
Harry Collins stepped out of his car, his coat collar turned up against the mountain morning chill. He walked up the porch steps, his heavy hand resting on the wooden railing.
"Morning, John," Harry said, tipping his hat. "Rough night?"
"The ridge held, Harry," I replied, nodding toward the driveway. "The timber is still standing."
"It is for now," Harry said, his expression grave as he looked back down the hill. "We intercepted Hayes’ convoy at the highway diner three miles south. He didn't leave the county, John. He met with a team of lawyers who flew in on a private jet from Charlotte at five in the morning. They’ve already filed an emergency petition for injunctive relief with Chancellor Bradley in Knox County Chancery Court."
"On what grounds?" Sarah asked, stepping forward.
"A quiet title action," Harry answered grimly. "Hayes is claiming that Margaret’s 2003 conservation easement was procured through fraud and that John was non-compos mentis when he signed the spousal joinder. They are asking the court for an immediate order authorizing Ridgecrest to secure the perimeter with private security personnel pending the hearing."
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"They want to seize the land physically before the court verifies the federal documents," Sarah said, her voice tightening.
"Exactly," Harry said. "And Chancellor Bradley is eighty-two years old and owes his last three judicial election campaigns to Hayes’ political action committee."
