The conservancy headquarters was empty. His co-worker who had been at the committee meeting had gone out with the city’s public-works crew to look at two trailheads due for regrading, and the rest of the staff was working on a post- burn assessment on the slope above and below the stagecoach road, so Roger asked Sarah to meet him in his office. She had sounded distressed when he telephoned. There were dark circles under her eyes when she walked through the door.
“Thank you for phoning,” she said rather formally. “I’ve been hoping we could talk.”
“Yes. Well.” Roger found himself at a loss for words, but Sarah had an abundance of them, and they tumbled out in a rush.
“Roger, something’s terribly wrong. That developer: he’s got Andy all tied in knots. I don’t know what it’s about, but I’ve
