A Two Thousand Dollar Nebraska Land Purchase Leads to a Federal Fraud Case
The quiet prairie land I wanted was just a prize they had already tried to pocket.
The realization that my bargain land was never a lucky break, but a prize they had already tried to pocket.
I kept that piece of paper in my pocket all night, the crease wearing thin against my thumb. At seven the next morning, the high-beam headlights of a county cruiser swept across my barn doors. The gravel did not make a sound under the tires because the ground was frozen hard, but the cold white light filled the cracks in the old siding. I stopped wiping down the grease on the tractor manifold and waited in the shadow of the main support beam.
Deputy Reynolds climbed out of the utility vehicle with his heavy winter collar turned up against the wind. He did not look at me when he walked into the barn, keeping his eyes on the concrete floor as if he were searching for a dropped oil cap. He held a manila envelope with a blue county seal on the front.
“I have an order here from the district court, Arthur,” Reynolds said.
