“Mother, that would be fabulous,” she said honestly. “And yes, I can tell you, since it’s pretty well public knowledge. They’ll probably say something about it on the ten o’clock news; they might even have an interview with him. It’s a fellow named Rod Calligan. And I would love to hear every juicy little rumor you have on him.”

“I can tell you right now that he hasn’t made any friends in this business,” Sarah said immediately. “If you asked someone in Tulsa, they would probably talk your ear off, but even out in Claremore we know about him. He’s cutthroat, and they say he’s cut-rate. Anything he builds never meets more than the absolute minimum standards and whenever he can he builds outside municipal boundaries so he doesn’t have to meet city codes.”

“Interesting.” That wasn’t illegal—but it was cheesy by some standards. And someone who built things that way might be tempted into something just as cheesy.

Or maybe not. He might not think he was doing anything cheesy—he might think he was simply being a good businessman. He might not even consider shading the truth to get cheaper insurance to be fraud. She’d have to have more information, and she said as much to her mother.

“Well, I can get it for you, honey,” Sarah said cheerfully. “I think Marge had some dealings with him, and you know how Marge loves to talk.”

“Only too well; she cornered me at your last company picnic,” Jennifer groaned. “I thought my ear was going to fall off.”

“Jen—I hope you know I worry about you, but I wouldn’t ask you to stop what you’re doing.” Sarah sounded hesitant, but Jennifer knew why. They’d had this little talk before.

“I know, Mom. You can’t help worrying; I’m your kid. You’d worry about any of the guys, too.” Jennifer couldn’t help smiling. “You also know how good a shot I am, and that I’m pretty good at martial arts. And I don’t think that being a shaman hurts.”

“I know all that. I also know that people have a breaking point—and that if you push them too hard, sometimes they get ugly.” Sarah did not sound like a nagging mother; she sounded like a concerned one. Not worried, but cautious. “I don’t like what I’ve heard about this Calligan man. He sounds like he’s used to getting his own way, and if you cross him—”