Part 99 (1/2)

I.

June glanced nervously out her rearview mirror.

156Melody Carlson

”Not seriously!” Suddenly Maggie imagined June's car

being followed by a hit man in a dark sedan.

June laughed. ”No, I've never heard of Cohn committing

any murders. Although one old guy became so frustrated

over a home he'd purchased last year that I think it gave him

a stroke, and for that I blame Cohn.”

”There was a man in the lobby who sounded pretty

upset. He was complaining that he had no water at his

house.”

”He must have purchased a home in Phase Three. Their

well ran dry last week. Some people are having huge stain-

less steel storage tanks installed~ but they run about $20,000

each and there's already a long waiting list. Once they're

installed the homeowners will have to pay to get them

refilled all the time, and of course their landscaping, which

is supposedly required for each house, has all died. Nothing

can survive Out here without water. That's how Cohn was

able to get the land so cheap to start with. On top of all that,

they raise the homeowners' fees every time you turn around.

A lot of these people are forced to sell for below market

value just to get out without losing everything. It's really

quite sad.”

”I never considered how all this could impact the con-