The Grain and the Binder: How an Urban Artisan Held the Line Against a Neighborhood Enforcer
CHAPTER 1: The First Notice on the Windshield The morning air smelled of wet asphalt, iron filings, and the dry, sweet scent of walnut shavings drifting up through the basement ventilation grates. Julian Vance did not look up from the workbench immediately. He kept his thumb pressed firm against the back of a hand plane,…