“The valley property belonged to my late father,” I said, keeping my voice level despite the wind lifting my cardigan.

“If you are planning to build there, Attorney Lin must review the original deed first.”

Daniel laughed softly, a short dry sound that never reached his pale gray eyes.

“Attorney Lin is nearly seventy years old and works out of a strip mall office next to a laundromat.”

“He has managed my family’s estate records for forty years,” I said.

“And he moves at a snail’s pace,” Daniel said, rolling the blueprints into a tight cylinder and snapping a rubber band around the middle.