Trixie was back at the podium again for a second round, once more stating her name and occupation for the record, her voice filled with scorn as she did so. “I guess what I want to know, what we all want to know, is if this is the new normal. Can we all expect such a hands-off approach from the town? If we want to change or expand, are we going to be able to do so without jumping through hoops? Are we going to be able to do whatever we want, regardless of the effect on other properties or businesses? Because that’s the precedent you’ve set with this new bank. I don’t know which one of you they paid off to get such treatment, but clearly something underhanded is going on, because none of us have ever gotten this kind of treatment.”

Derrick had had just about enough of this. He banged his gavel on the dais. “Listen here…”

The door at the back of the council chambers opened.

He’d been about to go on a tirade, lecturing Trixie—and all of them—about the importance of civility, but when he saw the man passing through the doorway, the reprimand died on his lips. Something about the lone figure left him feeling intimidated. Dressed all in black, wearing a suit so expensive that Derrick doubted anyone present had ever seen its like, the man strode into the council chambers with confident purpose, ignoring the gathered speakers and pushing through their ranks toward the front of the room.

While Derrick did not know who the man was, he was pretty sure he knew where he was from.

The First People’s Bank.

He wasn’t sure why he thought that, but the certainty was strong within him. When the council had okayed the new business, there’d been no representative from the bank present—another oddity—and they’d simply acted based on the report put in front of them. But something told him that if the councilmembers had met with anyone from the bank, this was who they would have seen.

A hush fell over the room as the man in black stepped up to the podium.

Trixie had moved aside, as had Fred Winters, who’d again been planning to follow her.