Chapter 15
Three Weeks Later
“You got this, baby.”
Nahla smiled. “Thanks.”
After Mace got in touch with his CBI associates, they formed a task force practically overnight.
Nahla, Cannon, Capri, and Mace had had several meetings with them during that time, and all of them hadn’t been easy.
Handing over her evidence was a difficult day.
Nahla felt like she was handing over a piece of herself—her work, her risks, and all her fears about how the case would be handled.
The CBI, however, handled the evidence with care, just like Mace said they would.
Capri had organized the files so neatly and efficiently that one of the agents offered her a job that she, of course, respectfully turned down. Mace had served as the liaison between the bureau and Nahla, keeping her abreast of every development, and Cannon.
Cannon had been keeping Nahla steady.
The CBI investigators verified everything Nahla gave them on their own. They had had several sit-downs with Ox, who was still working with Lyle PD undercover, of course. He had worked out an immunity deal in exchange for his unwavering cooperation.
They even tracked down Darius Laston and got an official statement from him.
They had obtained a warrant for all of Blue Stone Holdings’ accounts, without their knowledge, and that was the real goldmine.
They matched Ox’s bulldozing contracts to every piece of illegally seized land.
They pulled GPS logs, raid schedules, falsified reports, and several emails.
The final meeting was the one that changed everything.
Agent Lewis, the head of the task force, contacted Nahla directly to inform her that Sheriff Redding had obtained a phony warrant for her arrest, and the word was that they planned to travel to Jasona to make a public spectacle out of handcuffing her.
That almost sent Cannon over the edge with rage, but the agents assured both of them that Nahla would never see the inside of a jail cell.
Because Lyle PD had already tapped Mr. Hill’s office phone, the agents decided to create a trap for Redding.
Nahla would call her editor and openly say that she needed to return to Lyle to gather final quotes.
To confirm this intel, they would have Ox tell them that he had heard her confirm the trip to Lyle while he was following her.
They knew that once Redding heard that, he would try to pounce on her then.
CBI agents would already be stationed around town, ready to arrest Redding as soon as he approached Nahla.
Now here they were, pulling into the Lyle County Library to meet with the Howards as a part of the rouse.
She was sure to leak details about the place and time of her fake meeting so that they could get things over with as quickly as possible.
Mace and Capri were in the back seat, and she knew the CBI had eyes on her, even though she couldn’t see them.
“Aight, there are a few cars in the parking lot. I’m sure they’re undercover cops, ready to ambush us. La, stay behind me when we step out, and Mace, make sure Capri stays her ass in the car.”
Capri kissed her teeth, but instead of responding to her brother, she extended a hand to the front seat and placed it on Nahla’s shoulder.
“You got this, sis.”
Nahla nodded with a smile, then she and Cannon got out of the car. Everything happened almost immediately.
The front doors of the library burst open, and Sheriff Redding stepped out in his uniform with four deputies behind him and people from the local news station.
“Nahla Avery,” Redding shouted. “You are under arrest for bribery, coercion, and—”
He didn’t even get to finish his statement.
Black SUVs rolled in from all directions, with their tires screeching.
The car doors flew open, seemingly at once, and several agents swarmed the scene.
Nahla watched as a female CBI agent grabbed Deputy Allen and slammed him against his own squad car.
Two other agents moved between Cannon, Nahla, and Redding.
Finally, Agent Lewis stepped in, holding up his badge for Redding to see.
“Sheriff Redding,” he said, his tone full of authority, “you are under arrest for racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, witness intimidation, and unlawful land seizure under Chaney State Code.”
Nahla could hear the female agent reading Deputy Allen his rights just as the sheriff started to protest. “Excuse me? This is my town, and you can’t just—”
“No, sir,” Lewis said, stepping closer to the Sheriff. “This stopped being your town the second you sold it.”
“I knew his ass was dirty!” Nahla glanced at the library’s entrance to see that a small crowd of citizens, of different races, had formed.
As Lewis put the cuffs on Sheriff Redding, Redding kept his eyes locked on Nahla. His face displayed nothing but pure contempt.
“You ruined everything, you little nosy bitch—”
“Aye, y’all better get his ass on somewhere before I catch an assault charge,” Cannon said, stepping closer to Redding and Lewis.
Lewis nodded and aggressively led Redding to the back of his SUV. Nahla kept her eyes on the vehicle as it drove away, not even noticing that Capri and Mace had joined them outside the car.
The rest was a bit of a blur. The news station asked Nahla a series of questions, some of which she answered. For the most part, though, she directed them to her article, which would be released the next day.
Once the four of them were back in the car and on the way to Jasona, one thought kept playing in her mind:
It’s over. It’s finally over.
Deputy Allen’s wife had been arrested in their driveway.
Several other deputies were detained at their own station, and the judge who had granted all the raids had been brought in as well.
The CBI swept the homes and business locations of everyone involved and found even more hard evidence that would ensure real justice was served.
Nahla, Cannon, Mace, and Capri were just finishing up dinner at his grandmother’s house when Agent Lewis called Cannon’s phone. He answered and placed it on speaker.
“Wassup, Agent Lewis?”
“Hey, are you with Nahla? I thought you all would like to hear this.”
“Yeah, we’re all here. What happened?”
“I thought it would take longer, but the state has already approved property reversal proceedings. Every family whose land was taken will receive it back—plus restitution.”
“Thank you, Jesus,” Mama Porter cried out, while Capri stood and started screaming. Nahla’s breath hitched, and her vision blurred as tears pooled in her eyes.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Cannon placed an arm around her and pulled her closer.
“No, thank you,” Agent Lewis said. “Without your investigation, without your diligence, we never would have known. I just wanted to be the first to tell you. You all enjoy the rest of your evening.”
With that, Lewis hung up, and everyone at the table took turns congratulating Nahla while celebrating the good news.
“You good?” Cannon asked. His voice was low so that only Nahla could hear him.
“Never better,” she replied, meaning every word.
Her article, Home Grown Secrets: How Power, Silence, and Corruption Consumed a Small Town, would be released in five national newspapers, as well as The Citizen’s Eye, the next day.
Now that she knew all the families would be getting their land back, she could truly let this go and step into the next phase of life—hopefully with the man sitting beside her.