CHAPTER 20THE PAINTER
The meeting started ten minutes late. A woman from the Highland Council stood up and introduced Peggy Campbell. Brian checked the printed agenda.
"Former housing official," he whispered. "This should be interesting."
Peggy Campbell stepped to the front table, adjusted her glasses, and spoke without notes.
"I processed housing applications in this region for twenty-three years," she said. Her voice was loud enough to carry over the wind from the bay. "What's happening now is unprecedented."
She surveyed the crowd, making eye contact with several people.
"The housing crisis here isn't accidental. It's systematic." She pointed directly at a man in a blue blazer sitting near the front. "When Mr Abercrombie purchases an old croft house for little money, renovates it
