Hank's property was valuable because of its road access.
The Mercer land was valuable because it bordered the corridor and contained a potential groundwater discharge area noted in older surveys.
Victor wanted both.
He offered Hank a favorable purchase arrangement if he helped bring neighboring owners into discussions.
Nothing about introducing a buyer to a willing seller was automatically improper.
But Victor wanted the parcels acquired cheaply.
And he believed pressure would work better than a fair public explanation of the development's possible value.
He asked about Sarah Mercer.
Hank told him she was struggling financially.
Victor smiled.
“Then we should speak before the bank does.”
Hank hesitated.
Daniel had been his friend.
Eli was only fourteen.
But he also remembered the old arguments over the seep.
The opportunities he believed Daniel had wasted.
And the money Prairie Gate was offering.
So Hank agreed to introduce the company.
At first, he told himself he was helping Sarah.
A sale could remove the farm's debt.
She could move closer to work.
And Eli could grow up without worrying about droughts and broken tractors.
Those arguments sounded reasonable when Hank repeated them.
But something changed when Sarah refused.
Instead of respecting her decision, he began visiting more often.
He criticized the farm.
Mocked Eli's experiments.
And suggested that the family was irresponsible for holding land they couldn't afford to operate.
Victor encouraged the pressure.
He asked Hank to report any signs that Sarah might reconsider.
And he kept reminding him that the company's offer would not remain available forever.
Hank began treating the Mercer farm as though it were already part of Prairie Gate's plans.
Then he saw the schoolteacher measuring soil beside Daniel's old stone bed.
And remembered something he'd hoped everyone had forgotten.
The seep.
If Eli discovered enough about it to establish the property's practical value, Sarah might ask for a different price.
Or refuse to sell at all.
Either outcome threatened Hank's arrangement with Victor.
So he returned to the fence.
And laughed louder.