Chapter 7 - The Trap is Sprung
The County Clerk of Courts was a sprawling, brutalist building in the center of the city. At 11:45 AM, I sat in an unmarked van across the street with Detective Thorne and two FBI agents sent by Marcus Vance. We had a live audio feed pumping through the speakers.
“Just sign the damn paper, David,” Evelyn’s voice hissed through the static.
We watched through the binoculars as Evelyn and David Lin stood at the clerk’s counter.
“Evelyn, I don't know,” Lin’s voice trembled. “Sterling was asking questions at the meeting. If someone looks at the Apex LLC connection, they’ll see the appraisal is fake. They’ll see the house is actually worth three times what we put on the lien.”
“No one is going to look!” Evelyn snapped, her arrogance bleeding through the microphone. “He’s a broken-down veteran with a bad leg. He doesn't have the resources to fight a foreclosure. Once the deed transfers to Apex today, we flip it by Monday, replace the missing reserve funds, and the audit comes up clean. Now stamp the seal, David.”
In the van, Thorne smiled. "There it is. Intent, knowledge of fraud, and conspiracy. All on federal tape."
"Let's go," the lead FBI agent said, racking the slide of his sidearm.
I stepped out of the van, the midday sun warming my shoulders. I walked into the courthouse lobby, flanking the agents.
May you like
Evelyn was just handing the stamped foreclosure document to the clerk when I cleared my throat.
"I wouldn't file that, Evelyn," I said, walking up behind her. "The filing fee for a fraudulent federal document is about twenty years in a penitentiary."
