He paused. But what I can do is ensure that anyone who reads that assessment in any subsequent legal proceeding also reads this. He touched the documentation box and that they know about the Kettleworth letter to Mrs. Mercer and that they understand the timeline. Daryl's letter to Whitmore, followed in 8 days by a welfare complaint, followed in 10 days by the formal inspection notice. Is that enough to show bad faith?
Clare said, "It's enough to raise serious questions," Darl said. "And in a court of law, serious questions about a creditor's motivations matter." He looked at Thomas. "The bigger concern is the inspection itself. If Whitmore's inspector finds anything, anything that he can characterize as a viability concern that gives Whitmore cover, the bad faith argument becomes harder if there's any legitimate basis for the inspection.
There's nothing legitimate to find, Thomas said. I believe you, Darl said. But the inspector isn't my man. He's Whitmore's. He paused.
I'd like to arrange for a second inspector, an independent assessor, someone whose relationship with Whitmore's bank cannot be questioned. I have a man in mind, Samuel Ayes. He's assessed half the properties in this territory and he has a reputation that nobody argues with. Two inspectors, Clare said Whitmore's inspector files his report. Darrow said Ayes files his.
If the reports conflict, a court will want to know why. And I'll have very pointed questions for anyone trying to explain why Whitmore's inspector saw something Ayes didn't. Thomas looked at Clare. Clare looked at Darrow. "How much does heirs cost?"
She said. Darl named a figure. Thomas's jaw tightened. It was not a small figure. "I have it," Clare said.
Both men looked at her. She had been saving every week for three months, setting aside a portion of her wages in the tin she kept in her room, not for Denver anymore, not for a fresh start, somewhere with better prospects, but because she had understood somewhere around week five, that this was the emergency fund for a household she was part of, and she should treat it accordingly. She had not told Thomas this. He was looking at her now with an expression she could not quite read. "Clare," he started.
Thomas, she said. Let me do this. A silence. It's your savings, he said. I know what it is, she said.
I know what I want to do with it. He looked at her for a long moment. He looked like a man fighting the impulse to say something that he had decided to wait on and winning barely. "All right," he said. Darl looked between them with the expression of a lawyer who has learned to observe human situations without commenting on them.
I'll contact Ayes today. He said Samuel Ayes arrived on Saturday morning 2 days before Whitmore's inspector was scheduled. How was a compact gay-haired man in his 60s who moved through the ranch with the efficient economy of someone who has assessed hundreds of properties and knows exactly what he is looking for. He spoke little. He looked at everything.