The article was about a tragedy that happened in downtown Washington D.C. Apparently a new mall exploded from some sort of gas leak, with over 700 people reported killed. She remembered hearing about it on the news a couple of days ago, and now she made the connection.

This story was of interest to her for two major reasons. Number one, because of the address of the mall — it was on a parcel of land she was familiar with — and secondly, the last name she shared with the property owner: Harper. Mr. Brandon Franklin Harper was his name, and he was sort of a relative.

Lita had installed Bloodhound a few years earlier when she had chanced upon a story of a pet shop owner killed by the animals in his shop. Less than two weeks after the official grand opening, not only was the owner dead but the building had been burnt to the ground by vandals. The mall had been built over the razed ruins, and now that too had been destroyed.

This article got her attention because of a story that her grandmother had told her on her 18th birthday, only a week after the pet shop incident.

The story told of a deal made to curse some slave owners and a piece of land. This tale passed to Lita’s grandmother from her own grandmother and hers before, all the way back to Lisette Harper. She was a Haitian slave belonging to Ezra Harper, and only friend to an African slave taken from the Umbalee tribe. A slave named Umaa.