The handwriting looked like Luke’s. Then I reached the second line and noticed the address listed for our land: 1147 Mill Creek Road.
I opened the county notice I had saved the previous summer. Our road had not been assigned that address until October 1—three weeks after the date written on Dale’s letter.
PART 4: THE LETTER WITH AN ADDRESS THAT DIDN’T EXIST
I printed the county notice and set it beside the letter attached to Dale’s lawsuit. His exhibit was dated September 8. It listed 1147 Mill Creek Road, an address the county had not assigned until October 1.
Luke knew our old mailing address by heart. He would never have used an address that did not yet exist in a letter to his mother and brother. I sent copies of both documents to Walt Emery, the real estate attorney I had arranged to meet, and asked him to examine the original if Dale produced one.
Walt called later that day.
“That date is a serious problem for their claim,” he said. “Keep the county notice. I’ll request every version of the letter they have.”
I also gave him Luke’s recorded deed, the towing-yard inventory, and the photographs of the survey stakes. Each document answered a different question. The deed showed how Luke and I owned the land. The inventory showed Dale had taken the land-trust envelope. The stakes showed he had the meadow surveyed while Luke was still alive.
