by K C Gillis
“Little? It’s not little. Once I have the marina, I’ll turn that lake into the best destination after the Shore. I’m already having discussions about putting in a casino.”
Vincent’s look didn’t change. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. This is your mess, and you need to deal with it.”
Robbie regained some composure. “Sorry, Pa. You’re right. It’s a problem.”
“So tell me your plan to deal with it.”
Robbie hadn’t had a chance to think through a plan, but his father wouldn’t accept him asking for more time. “I need to confirm what she knows. If your source is correct, then I’ll persuade this reporter to leave things alone. If not, I’ll find another solution.”
“I approve. I know you want to carve out your own piece of the family business. This is your chance to handle a complex situation.”
Vincent stood up and headed for the door. Robbie did the same.
“One more thing,” Vincent said. “Tony’s going with you tomorrow.”
Robbie stopped. “What? You just said this was my chance. I don’t need Tony or anyone else. I can do this myself.”
Vincent turned and faced Robbie. “This isn’t open for discussion. I want Tony by your side. It might be you making the deal, but it’s my name. Be thankful I’m not going myself.”
Robbie fumed at the insult of having his father’s bodyguard accompanying him. “If he comes, he does what I say.”
“Fine, Robbie. But don’t take it so personally. It won’t hurt your negotiation to have someone of Tony’s size by your side. He could come in handy.”
Robbie knew Tony well but glanced at him just the same. His father was right on that last point. At well over six feet and at least 250 pounds, Tony was an imposing presence. No harm in letting Banfield feel a little fear at the prospect of saying no.
36
The chief again found himself in the drugstore parking lot waiting for Punch Malone. The routine was getting tiresome. It needed to end. His balancing act between Chisholm and Vitali was becoming more precarious by the day.
At the moment, he couldn’t decide which situation posed the most risk to himself. The fish kill had not been well contained, thanks to Jordan Reed. So far, she had thwarted his efforts to prevent her from getting one of the dead fish out of town for analysis. Any day—hell, any hour—she could get the results back. The chief expected that whatever those idiots were testing would show up in the dead fish. With the video the chief knew Jordan Reed had, she might be in a position to expose NeuSterone and Chisholm as well. The chief would go down with that ship.
The marina vandalism bit was trickier and could play out in a couple of ways. If Mike didn’t sell to either Vitali or Chisholm, the chief would be at risk from Vitali. His gambling debt wouldn’t be forgiven, and he’d have a price to pay, either financial or physical. He couldn’t handle either. If Mike sold to Chisholm, the chief was likely a dead man. But if Mike sold to Vitali, his gambling debt would be erased, and he’d be in the clear. As long as his role in sabotaging the marina stayed quiet.
In that last scenario, Punch Malone was a liability.
As the chief contemplated the scenarios, Punch Malone arrived and knocked on the window of his Explorer. The chief waved him in.
“I got your message. What’s up?”
“Checking in to make sure you’re on track for tomorrow. There can’t be any mistakes. It would be bad for both of us.”
“Is it because of that guy I met? The one who works for some big shot?”
“You could say that. Are you all set?”
“I think so. I’ve got everything ready. I only need a couple of minutes.”
“You’re sure it will go off without a hitch?”
“As long as it doesn’t rain.”
“You better be right.”
“Chief, what’s the point of all this? Just to cause damage? Or to piss off Mike?”
The chief wasn’t sure he should tell Punch the truth. But since Punch’s long-term survival wasn’t necessary, it couldn’t hurt. It might even help. “All you need to know is that there is someone who wants to make Copper Lake a real resort town. More hotels. New businesses. The marina will be the centerpiece. If Mike sells. So far, he hasn’t agreed. He needs some convincing. Good enough?”
Malone looked down. “But Mike is a good guy. I know you and him have had your troubles, but he’s been good to the town. He’s been good to me, letting me use my uncle’s membership to spend my time there. It feels wrong to force him to sell if he doesn’t want to.”
“It’s not up to you. Hell, it’s not even up to me. It’s not like Mike won’t come out of this a millionaire. He’ll never have to work again.”
“I guess. Anyway, I’m good to go. I’ll be at the marina all day tomorrow in case something comes up.”
“Nothing better come up. Now get out of here.”
Once Punch Malone left, the chief headed to the marina. Nicky Carlucci was leaning against his car in the parking lot. He was on the phone. Nicky waved him over. The chief glanced around. The area looked clear, just one family heading to their SUV carrying coolers and wakeboards.
Nicky had finished his call by the time the chief reached him. “Perfect timing,” Nicky said.
“How so?”
“I just had a chat with Mr. Vitali. It seems things are accelerating.”
“Should we be having this conversation here?”
“There’s no one around. Relax.”
“I’m relaxed. But I won’t take stupid risks.”
“Like gambling away two hundred and fifty thousand you don’t have? Trust me, that’s a lot riskier than any conversation we could have in the open with no one around.”
The chief didn’t like Nicky’s comment. It was both insulting and true. “Fine. What did Robbie say?”
“Mr. Vitali said he’s learned the marina owner is considering selling the marina to someone else. Some state senator. Do you know anything about that?”
The Vitalis knowing specifically about Chisholm meant the back-channel rumor mill worked well. The chief had to stick with his story of knowing nothing. “Nope. If he’s heard that, he’s got better sources than I do.”
Nicky looked closely at the chief. “Could be. But on the off chance you knew something and didn’t tell Mr. Vitali, your gambling debt would be the least of your worries.”
“I don’t know a goddamn thing, all right?”
“Fine. But Mr. Vitali has to act as if what he heard is true. So he’s coming here tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Why?”
“For the fireworks. Why the hell do you think? He’s going to press Banfield to sell.”
The chief hadn’t expected an in-person meeting. Especially on the Fourth. “Will that change our plans?”
“That depends. If Banfield agrees to sell to Mr. Vitali, we won’t go through with the next accident. If Banfield declines, then the plan remains. Either it will help convince him to sell to Mr. Vitali, or it’ll be punishment.”
“So how will I know what to do? It won’t be so easy to stop what’s planned.”
“You’ll hear from me. Just make sure you’re around the marina tomorrow.”
That was one thing he didn’t need to change. The chief had no intention of being anywhere else. “I’ll be here.”
“There’s one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“This reporter who’s here. Jordan Reed. Mr. Vitali heard she’s investigating the family and that she seems to think these marina accidents are his doing.”
It impressed the chief how quickly that particular bit of information moved through the channels. He didn’t know how Chisholm had pulled it off so fast.
“Did he get this from the same source?”
“I’d assume so.”
The chief knew this was Chisholm pulling Vitali’s strings. “So he believes this as well? You know there are only three of us here who know the source of the accidents. I’m sure
as hell not in a hurry to go to jail. Or worse.”
“I know that. It wasn’t you I thought of. I think your man Malone has talked.”
“No way. After you talked to him, he’s too scared to say a word to anyone. I’d bet Jordan Reed has nothing more than a hunch. If that. You know reporters. Always stirring up shit to try to flush out some truth they believe.”
“That might be true. Nevertheless, Mr. Vitali isn’t comfortable with this situation and wants me to personally look after it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Ms. Reed and I might need to have a little conversation. See if we can come to an understanding.”
The chief couldn’t believe his luck. What started out as a shot in the dark by him to deflect attention to Jordan Reed looked like it could actually work. If Vitali did in fact deal with Jordan Reed, maybe get her to leave town or otherwise drop the story, he’d be home free on the fish kill dilemma. Then he could focus on making sure Banfield sold the marina to Vitali. He had one more card to play.
“Since you mentioned her, Jordan Reed is also stirring up other trouble.”
“Really? What kind?”
“She thinks there’s some sort of environmental issue with the lake and is poking her nose around some of the local companies. There’s nothing to it, but if she publishes something that’s damaging to Copper Lake businesses, it would affect the marina.”
Nicky again gave the chief a look as if he weren’t sure he believed him. “Is there anything for her to report?”
“Nothing substantial. Just a rumor about some fish that died.”
“Are you asking me to do something?”
“It’s up to you. If you do talk to her, keep it in mind.”
“I’ll take that into consideration. And remember to be here tomorrow. I don’t want to have to hunt you down if we need you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be here.”
37
From her seat, Jordan looked to see if Travis and Rachel were nearby. She didn’t immediately see them and assumed they must have gone for a walk. Jordan was alone for less than ten seconds before Derek took the seat just vacated by his father.
“Hey,” he said. “I saw my dad here. He had that ‘you’re in deep shit’ look on his face, so I wanted to see if you were all right.”
Derek appearing right after his father highlighted how truly different the two men were. One was charmless, aggressive, and devoid of compassion. The other seemed to always think of those around him.
“I’m fine. I’ve had to deal with worse than your dad. But thanks for asking.”
“He wasn’t happy. Did he think you did something?”
“Let’s just say we had an exchange of information that stimulated him to try to bribe me to walk away from the fish kill story.”
“Seriously? I knew he had to be responsible for dealing with the dead fish, but why try to bribe you?”
“Let me catch you up. A lot has happened.”
Jordan told Derek most of what she had done and learned in the last twenty-four hours. This included meeting Francis Emberly and his relationship to State Senator Chisholm, someone who Derek knew of and had met on more than one occasion. Jordan shared how Travis and Rachel had connected Emberly to NorConn Holdings and NeuSterone. She told him about her drone excursion with Travis that morning and what they’d seen, in particular the fish tanks. She finished by telling him about the deer that had been hit by the car and how it reminded her of the fish.
“Wow,” Derek said. “You don’t mess around. You talked about this with my dad?”
“Pretty much.”
“Do you really think the deer was exposed to the same chemicals as the fish?”
“It’s definitely a possibility. But I’ll never get a sample of anything to test.”
“Not if my dad intervened. How do you think the deer got exposed?”
“There are two options I thought of. One was that the deer was being tested on and escaped or was released. The second was that the chemicals have made it off-site. I saw a small stream that looked like it ran right through the site. Or under the site. Depending on how they dispose of waste, maybe the chemicals got into the water?”
“Shit. That won’t be good for anyone. I don’t know how much of those chemicals it would take to affect people, but if they’re getting into the lake, there could be a problem.”
“I agree. The stream I saw ran to the lake. Near where you took me the other day.”
“You’ve got to get this story. That’s the only way anyone will believe what’s going on.”
“I’m working on it. But your dad keeps getting in the way.”
“I know. And now you tell me his response was to try to bribe you instead of going to lock up the people responsible for the animal testing.”
“More or less. He asked what it would take for me to walk away from the story. He said he could help negotiate something. I don’t think he was trying to bribe me directly, but he could help make it happen. I have to assume that it would come from Emberly or the senator.”
“That makes more sense. He doesn’t have any money to bribe anyone with. Besides, I don’t think he knows what they do at that site. But he knows Chisholm from when they were kids. He’s one of those sleazy guys who acts like a friend but really just tricks people into doing what he wants. My dad’s a pretty simple guy and probably agreed to something that he couldn’t get out of.”
“You could be right. But there’s a conspiracy to hide whatever’s going on at that site, and I’m going to expose it. I hope your dad’s role in whatever’s going on is minimal or nonexistent.”
“I’m sure it is. He’s not a bad guy. He just has a few weak spots.”
“I won’t comment on that one. But I’ve got a favor to ask.”
“Fire away.”
“I need some tools. Wire cutters, an ax or sledgehammer, some kind of drill. Do you have some tools I can borrow?”
“Sure, I’ve got everything you mentioned, plus probably anything else you could name. What do you need them for?”
“I still need some kind of proof of what NeuSterone is testing. They have to keep the chemicals they use somewhere on-site. We saw a locked room with a bunch of refrigerators and freezers. I need to get inside. Which means I first need to get through the fence, then get into the building and storage room. I bet those refrigerators and freezers are locked, so I might have to drill them out.”
“Shit, Jordan, that’s a lot to get through. No offense, but I don’t think you can do it. I don’t think I could do it.”
“I don’t have a better idea.”
“You know they’ll have real security there. Cameras inside and outside. The windows and doors are probably wired, so as soon as you break one, an alarm will go off. Even if you do the whole thing in a couple of minutes, I don’t think you’ll have enough time.”
“You’re probably right. But without real proof, NeuSterone and Chisholm will be able to deflect anything I publish. I need an actual chemical from the site where animals were tested that matches what we found in the fish. Getting a sample is critical.”
“I see why you need it. But you won’t get in there without setting off a bunch of alarms.”
“Do you think we could cut the power to the site?”
“I doubt it. Did your video capture where power comes into the site?”
“No. The footage is mostly around the big testing building. The power must come in the front.”
“Still, cutting the power is likely to set off an alarm. It’s probably just as risky as breaking through the fence.”
“I wish we knew someone who worked there who’d be willing to help. All I need is for someone to leave a couple of doors or windows unlocked. I’d need five minutes at most. Do you know anyone who works there?”
“Until the other day, I didn’t even know there was anything there at all. I have no idea who works there. Hell, for all I know, I see people who work there all the time
and don’t even realize it.”
As happened more often than Jordan liked, she had overlooked the obvious solution. “Holy shit am I stupid. I know what one person who works there looks like. He’s on the video from the drone, right before it crashed.”
“For real? Show me.”
Jordan pulled out her phone, opened the drone app, and went to the end of the video. She found the segment where the worker walked right in front of the drone. She paused the video, providing a clear view of the man’s face.
“I’ve seen him around. I don’t know his last name, but his first name is Drew. He’s pretty tall.”
That triggered a memory for Jordan. “Really? How tall? As tall as Travis?”
“Real close.”
“I think I’ve seen him as well. A few nights ago, I saw what was clearly a drug deal going down over on the far side of the marina property. The lighting wasn’t great, but the buyer was really tall and thin. I bet it was the same guy.”
“Did you notice who the seller was? Was he wearing a black hoodie?”
“I think so. Why?”
“It was probably Punch Malone. No matter how many times he gets busted, he just doesn’t stop.”
“Has your dad busted him before?”
“Many times.”
“Funny. Your dad saw Malone that night, just before the deal went down. He didn’t seem interested in him at all.”
“Probably just tired of giving him warnings and hauling him in.”
“Maybe. Back to my dilemma. Do you think it’s worth trying to convince this Drew guy to help us get in?”
“I don’t know him at all. For sure, he’d be risking his job to help. It’s a long shot.”
Jordan agreed. Getting a complete stranger to risk his job to help her was pretty stupid. Especially since this guy worked at the place she needed to expose. He had to have some loyalty. Unless she had leverage.
“This Punch Malone. Do you know him?”
“Sure. Everyone around here knows him. Most people don’t like him, but he’s tolerated because his uncle is a good guy in the community. What are you thinking?”