by K C Gillis
“She’s going to be the end of me. I thought what she had on the dead fish situation was bad enough. This is worse.”
“And you confirmed that she has no interest in backing off? There’s not a price she’d consider?”
“She was pretty clear she wouldn’t accept a bribe.”
“Then it looks like I’ve got two problems to handle.”
“Are you serious? You can’t kill two people here. There’s never been a single murder here, let alone two.”
“Keep your pants on. No one’s going to think any murders were committed. I’m not some schmuck who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“Whatever. Just don’t tell me what you’re going to do. I need to act surprised if you do kill someone.”
“Relax. Make sure you’re nearby today when Mr. Vitali arrives to meet with Mike. We all need that meeting to go well.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be close.”
Mike Banfield sat in his office contemplating the two phone calls he’d received earlier in the day.
The first was from Alex Koffman. Mike had hoped to be done with that attorney and the unsolicited offer for his marina. As it turned out, the person behind the offer was coming to Copper Lake and wanted to meet in person. Mike’s first inclination was to say no, that the discussion about selling the marina was closed. But the lawyer convinced Mike to at least give the prospective buyer the courtesy of pitching his best offer in person. Mike relented and agreed to meet him at five p.m.
The call from Chris Chisholm was completely out of the blue. They had caught up occasionally in the years since high school, and Chris or someone from his extended family always kept at least one boat at the marina. But today, Chris didn’t want to catch up. He said he’d be at Copper Lake tomorrow afternoon and wanted to have a one-on-one meeting. About buying the marina. Mike didn’t agree to a formal meeting on the day of the Fourth celebrations but said he would talk to him.
On top of the Fourth of July week being the busiest for the marina, Mike now had to worry about how to handle meeting two people interested in buying his marina, even though it wasn’t for sale. That would definitely be a dark cloud hanging over his day.
A knock on the door interrupted Mike.
“Come in,” he said.
“It’s me,” said Alice. She opened the door and stepped inside. “Just checking to see if you want the kitchen to cook you some food. You skipped dinner and probably need to eat. Tomorrow’s going to be busy.”
Mike couldn’t remember the last time Alice had offered anything like that. It had to have been years. Mike wasn’t very suspicious by nature, but this was out of character. He had a hunch he needed to test.
“Thanks, but I’m good. Why don’t you come have a seat?”
“Are you sure? You’re not too busy?”
“No more than usual. I want to ask you something.”
“OK.” Alice sat at the desk opposite Mike. “What’s up?”
“Do you know who called me earlier?”
“I couldn’t begin to guess.”
Mike made sure to carefully watch Alice’s reaction. “Chris Chisholm.”
Mike knew Alice was a pro at lying. She excelled at hiding reactions she didn’t want others to see. But at Mike’s question, she took a sharp, quick inhale on hearing Chris’s name.
Mike didn’t give her a chance to say how surprised she was or to ask why he’d called. “I can see you know something about this. What gives?”
“What do you mean? I have no idea why Chris called.”
“I think you do. Want to know why?”
Alice adopted one of her surly personas. “I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“It seems Chris has some interest in the marina. Isn’t that a strange coincidence, given your interest in selling the place?”
“That’s all it is, Mike. But since you brought it up, you should listen to any offer someone is willing to make. You may not think you want to sell the marina, but you may hear an offer that changes your mind.”
“An offer from Chris?”
“I can think of worse people to sell the marina to. Chris is from Copper Lake. People know him, and many voted for him.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been priming him to buy the marina. But it’s a waste of your time.”
“Whatever, Mike. But at least give Chris a chance to make a pitch. You guys were good friends once upon a time.”
“I won’t be rude, don’t worry.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” Alice started to get up to leave.
“But you should know that I’m meeting with someone else who wants to buy the marina. And I already know the offer he’s willing to make is beyond anything I would have expected. It’s probably more than Chris would offer.”
Alice stopped and turned to face Mike. “I knew someone else made an offer. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I declined it. I don’t want to sell.”
“Who’s the other buyer? Can you at least tell me that?”
“I still don’t know exactly. I’ve only talked to the lawyer representing the buyer. It could be Santa Claus for all I know.”
“Just remember that Chris is one of us.”
“I know that, Alice. But if you keep putting pressure on me to sell, I may just do it. Only Chris might not be the winner.”
“You don’t have to be a prick, you know. I just want what’s best for all of us.”
“I know at least one person you’re looking out for. I’m pretty sure it’s not me.”
“Think what you want, Mike.”
Alice slammed the door as she left.
Mike tried to refocus on what he’d been working on before Alice had interrupted. But the feeling of being manipulated killed his ability to concentrate.
He left his office not more than five minutes after Alice. He always felt better after walking the grounds, so he headed toward the main dock. Quite a few boats were missing, representing those boaters that preferred getting out on the lake before it got crowded.
As he neared the docks, he saw the barge for the fireworks display being put in the water. His staff had been using the same barge for the last ten years. While the size of the display had grown each year, it was still big enough to handle everything.
Enjoying the pre-sunset sky, Mike heard someone call his name.
Jordan thought she had seen Mike walk from the main building toward the docks. She had a few minutes before she had to leave to meet Drew MacGregor, so she could let Mike know what she’d learned about the accidents. She hustled in his direction and called out to him when she got close.
Jordan waved as Mike turned at the sound of his name.
“Hey, Mike,” Jordan said when she reached him. “Can I steal you for a few minutes?”
Mike appeared distracted, like she’d interrupted him.
“Um, yeah, sure,” he said. “I guess that’ll be all right.”
“It’s kind of important. Do you mind if we head away from the docks so no one overhears?”
“No problem. Let’s go over by the playground. It looks empty.”
As they moved toward the playground, Mike saw that the man he had noticed a moment ago had gone to the parking lot.
They reached the playground, and Mike leaned against the support for the swing set. “What’s this important topic you want to discuss?”
“It’s about the marina. And the accidents.”
Jordan saw that she had Mike’s undivided attention. “You know something about the accidents? What is it?”
“First of all, they weren’t accidents. Someone did them on purpose.”
“On purpose? Why?”
“To put pressure on you to sell the marina.”
“Jesus, does everybody know someone’s trying to buy this place?”
“I don’t think so. But, tell me, is there someone from the city or New Jersey who’s trying to buy the marina?”
“It’s possible. I met wi
th a lawyer a few days back, but I don’t know who he represented. I’ll know tomorrow. I’m supposed to meet the buyer at five.”
“OK. Let me ask this. Is it possible Senator Chisholm is represented by the lawyer you met?”
“What? No. But how the hell do you know about him? He only just called me today to say he wanted to talk about the marina.”
“I’ll get to that. But based on what you just said, I can tell you the mystery buyer is part of the Vitali family. It might be the son, Robbie Vitali.”
“Why do you say that?”
“There’s a guy who works in the Vitali casino that Robbie Vitali manages for his father. He’s been here the last few days. Someone told me he’s here to make sure nothing goes wrong with the Vitali plan. The plan to buy the marina.”
Mike shook his head. “That seems far-fetched.”
“Didn’t you say yourself you thought the accidents seemed too strange to not have been done on purpose?”
“Yes. But I was thinking vandalism. Nothing so elaborate as someone pressuring me to sell.”
Mike needs to know the truth.
“Mike, I know who orchestrated the accidents. I recorded Punch Malone confessing.”
Jordan watched Mike’s face as he displayed one of those “of course” looks.
“Why am I not surprised? He’s always been a criminal, so this isn’t a stretch for him. But why would he do this? I thought I’d been more fair to him than he deserved.”
“There are two more people involved. One you know. Chief Foster. The other is a guy named Nicky Carlucci. He works for the Vitalis. I don’t know what he does, but he might be some kind of enforcer.”
Mike stood up straight, his hands making fists. “You better not be serious. You think that son-of-a-bitch Foster has been damaging my marina and putting people at risk? All the while dismissing the accidents as bad luck or incompetence by my staff? He’s done. Finished. I’ll go right to the state police.”
Jordan stood and waited while Mike vented. Better that he get his anger out so he could then think more clearly.
“Are you sure you want to do that right away? The chief will make it difficult for the state police to get involved. If he has a friend or connection there, he could slow them down while he tries to find a way out. Remember, we have no actual evidence, just the word of a criminal.”
Mike exhaled in frustration. “So what do you propose?”
“We set a trap.”
“For the chief?”
“For whoever we can catch.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“One is coming to me.”
Jordan forced herself to concentrate. Ideally, she’d like all the criminals together. Then she had to get her theory in front of them. But it had to be good enough that the chief and Vitali couldn’t really deny it. Even better if they turned on each other.
“You said you’re meeting with the man we think is Vitali tomorrow?”
“Yes. At five p.m.”
“All right. I think we can use that meeting. We need to think of how we can get the chief there at the same time, as well as Nicky, the guy who works for Vitali. I’ve got Punch Malone’s confession recorded. Maybe we play it to Vitali. That should pretty much end this whole extortion thing.”
“Didn’t you say these Vitalis are casino owners? That means they’re probably criminals. Or at the very least comfortable resorting to violence to handle issues. What do you think happens once we out them?”
“Oh, they’ll be mad for sure. But we can use that to our advantage. Let me think some more about it, and we can talk tomorrow morning.”
“Sure, Jordan. Thanks for the help on this. It means a lot to me.”
“Any time, Mike. I gotta run.”
40
Jordan pulled into the parking lot of the Old Town Tavern, Travis in the passenger seat, Derek in the rear. Derek had seemed frustrated when he’d seen that Travis was going with them, but Jordan didn’t have time to worry about it. She needed the drive to get Travis up to speed.
The trio walked to the entrance after Jordan parked the car.
“Ready?” Jordan asked, not really expecting a response longer than “yes.”
“Yes,” Travis said. “But are you sure using this guy’s drug habit is the right play?”
“It’s the only real leverage I have.”
“Do you have a backup plan?”
“Yep. Breaking in without his help.”
“Right. I hope plan A works. If he agrees to help, when do you think you’ll go in?”
“Tonight. As soon as he confirms it’s clear.”
“Damn, Jordan. Don’t you ever go slow with this shit?”
“You should know the answer by now.”
“You’re right. Let’s get this over with. Maybe he’ll say no.”
They entered the Old Town Tavern.
The first word that came to Jordan’s mind to describe the place was “dive.” The bar ran along the wall opposite the entrance, and there was an array of barstools whose ripped seats signaled appearances weren’t important to the owner. The tables scattered around the floor were mostly small four-seaters with what looked like Formica tabletops. The metal chairs could have been bought at Walmart. Jordan glanced at Travis and could see he shared a similar impression. This place was a far cry from his well-maintained bar.
Despite the run-down nature of the place, the crowd was a decent size, filling maybe three-quarters of the seats. The lighting was poor, making it hard to see much from the entrance.
“Derek, let me know when you see him.”
They slowly picked their way through the tables, Jordan looking for someone about as tall as Travis.
“He’s at a table to the left,” Derek said. “All the way against the wall. He’s looking our way.”
Jordan and Travis followed Derek as he led them to the left. Jordan took in the view and immediately picked out a man who, though seated, was clearly taller than anyone else in the bar, Travis included.
They got to the table, Derek first.
“Can we join you?” Derek said.
“Why are you here? Malone said a woman wanted to meet with me. Some reporter.”
Jordan stepped forward. “I’m Jordan. I don’t think I told Malone I wouldn’t be coming alone. I hope that’s OK?”
He looked at the two men with Jordan. “The kid I recognize from the marina. The other one I don’t know.”
“He’s Travis. He came with me from Boston.”
“Well, you’re here now. You may as well take a seat. You might want to make sure they’re clean first. This place has cheap drinks, but they don’t know much about cleaning.”
“Thanks,” Jordan said as they sat down.
“So what’s this all about?” Drew said.
Jordan took a deep breath. “I’ll get right to it. I know what’s going on at the NeuSterone site where you work. I know whatever you’re testing killed a few hundred fish and that it wasn’t officially reported. That tells me what you’re testing isn’t approved and that you’re breaking the law. I also suspect that whatever you’re testing is getting off the site somehow. I’m going to expose what’s going on there, but I need something. I need samples of the chemicals you’re testing. Specifically, whatever killed the fish. You’re going to help me get them.”
When Jordan stopped talking, the table felt like it had become enveloped in a bubble of silence. Drew displayed no obvious reaction to Jordan’s damning summary. After a period of quiet, he finally spoke.
“That’s one hell of a story. Your imagination is working overtime.”
“Are you denying what I said?”
“Denying? Where did all this come from? I don’t know anything about some company called NeuSterone, and I sure as hell don’t work there. Malone should have told you I don’t have a real job. I do random work for cash. I’m sorry you wasted your time, but you’re way off base here.”
“I see.” Jordan took out her phone, tapped the
screen a few times, and then handed it to Drew. “Tell me this isn’t you.”
Jordan had extracted a short segment of video from the drone footage. She specifically isolated the last ten seconds, when Drew came into view and the drone crashed. Drew’s calm demeanor disappeared as he looked at his own face perfectly captured by the drone’s camera. He set the phone on the table in front of Jordan.
“Oh fuck. You’re the one who had the drone. Did you fly it yourself?”
“That was me,” Travis said. “It scared the shit out of me when I saw you.”
“I could tell.”
“Let’s come back to my summary,” Jordan said. “I think we can safely say that you know and work for NeuSterone. We saw the inside of that building, including the fish tanks. We’ll soon have test results back from one of the dead fish and will know exactly what killed it. Whatever killed the fish is inside the building. That’s what I need.”
Drew took a drink of the beer in front of him, looking down at the table. “You should destroy that video and forget what you saw. You won’t be able to do anything.”
“You’re wrong. As long as I get a sample of what killed the fish, I’ll have enough to get the story out in public.”
“The people in charge won’t let that happen. They have too much invested.”
“Who’s ‘they’? NorConn Holdings?”
“I’ve never heard that name before. Honest. But I’m contractually forbidden to talk about the company. I’m not even allowed to tell anyone who I work for. That’s why I use the story about odd jobs. Hell, that’s why I hang out at a dump like this. No one here gives a shit what I do for a living. But now I’ll probably get fired because I left the building open this morning and you guys flew that drone inside.”
Jordan sensed she might not need to threaten Drew with the drug deal she’d witnessed. If he was already worried about his job, maybe she could play on that fear.
“Look, Drew, if your company is that secretive, they will fire you for what happened. When that video gets out, with the other facts I have, NeuSterone could get shut down. People might go to jail. If I were in charge of NeuSterone, I’d look for someone to take the fall. Someone like you.”