Nothing Ventured

by Roderick Price

  The owner of Deep Lake Lodge had three sons. They were great boys. Really super at helping run the rental cabins and the restaurant. It was Saturday and the boys were off school. The oldest one had loaded up the pickup with firewood and was restocking the cabins. Only two of the cabins even had occupants. He parked outside the cabin and got his first armload of wood. He dumped the wood on the porch and then knocked on the door. No answer. The Aurora was sitting nearby. Odd the renter wouldn’t answer. He knocked again and then took out his master key and pushed open the door. Larry Walker was lying on the floor in a pool of frozen blood.

  CHAPTER 43

  It was Thursday morning in Taylor’s apartment. She and Jason were having their morning coffee.

  “So now we’re not only in the refining business, we’re in the oil drilling business.” Jason could get pretty cynical.

  “Before today I couldn’t tell you a thing, Jason. Conlan would’ve crucified me,” said Taylor. It had killed Taylor not to tell Jason about the oil discovery, but sometimes even Jason couldn’t keep a secret. This had been so big, even she couldn’t take any chances. Plus, Jason was smart, and the less he knew about it, the better the odds of this staying on track and keeping Jason off the warpath. Now she and Jason were headed to the press conference, and there was little to lose by telling him some of the details on the ride over.

  “I couldn’t stop this, okay. I couldn’t sweep it under the rug because Records Management would have just gone around me. Once we told the governor about it, he went crazy. He was immediately talking about how this was going to save him in the election. He said he absolutely needed to go public with it before it either leaked or the feds came back asking for the tapes.”

  “So, what’s he going to do at the press conference?” asked Jason.

  “I have no idea. Probably make a fool out of himself,” said Taylor.

  “And has he asked you to play a role today?” Taylor could tell from the tone that Jason thought Taylor might actually be working with the governor on this for political gain, after all, she was more or less on the ticket for lieutenant governor. Little did Jason know.

  “No role whatsoever. I’m up on the podium with him, but he’s warned me to keep my mouth shut unless someone asks me a direct question.”

  “What question would you like to be asked?” said Jason cannily. “I’ve got a lot of real curious friends in the press, you know. If they knew you had something to say, they’d love to be the one asking the question, especially if it’s at odds with “His Honor, Governor ‘Con-Man.’”

  “Funny, but don’t use “Con-Man” in front of anyone,” said Taylor hesitating. “Listen, I know I worry too much at times, but I just think this whole thing is moving too fast. I told the governor we should take our time, go through due diligence, and then see how we move forward. Basically, he told me that I wasn’t going to steal this away from him and his re-election bid. Even threatened to fire me if I got out of line. Said I served at his “discretion,” if you know what I mean.”

  Governor Conlan had taken a page out of Taylor’s book and scheduled the press conference on the Capitol steps. It was a gray, overcast day, but the turnout was huge. Nobody knew what the topic was, they were just told it was a headline story. They asked the driver to leave them off in front of Rennebohm’s and they walked the last half block to the east veranda of the capitol building. The staff had erected a small wooden riser over the steps and put a half dozen chairs on the platform. As they neared the area, Taylor found it was much worse than she could have imagined. Dick Jansen from Empire Oil and Sheldon Mack from Arbor were there. Obviously, they were continuing to cater to Conlan on the Superior refinery project. He had invited them to the event today, obviously telling them why, to be present at the press conference. This just kept getting better. Taylor had told Martin it might take two or three weeks to get this far. The governor had taken the bait and gotten way out of control and brought in these guys in the last forty-eight hours.

  “Your buddies are here.” She had never tired of Jason’s dry, razor-sharp humor.

  “Oh, this is going to be interesting,” said Taylor.

  “Look,” said Jason. “Jansen’s already up on the risers. It must be that your esteemed company on the platform will be the people from big oil. Maybe you can get a job with Empire Oil when this is all over.”

  “Out of control. Conlan is totally out of control this time,” said Taylor. “You know I bet you twenty bucks that Conlan’s already cut his oil buddies in on the deal.”

  “So, do you want me to plant some questions or not?” Jason had a way of getting to the point. She was about to go up on stage.

  “You bet. The only question I need is “Taylor, are you convinced this is all real?” said Taylor.

  “No problemo, amigo,” and he melted off into the maze of reporters, government press staff, cameras, tripods and microphone booms.

  The governor started in: “People of Wisconsin, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues and guests, thank you for coming today. I believe today marks the start of a new era of development, growth and opportunity for the people of Wisconsin, their children and their children’s children. Today we embark on a new journey to ensure the vitality, the security and the education for the people of this great state. When I took office, I pledged to myself and to my Party that I would become an architect of greatness for all that is right in Wisconsin, and today I stand before you ready to take a next step along that path.”

  This was so bad, Taylor was ready to throw up. The film was running though, and even the reporters stood with bended ear. A number of the reporters held a microphone in one hand and a cellular phone to their ear, ready to relay any big news directly to the news center, for processing long before the press conference would conclude. All eight chairs were lined up in the same row behind the governor. The three oil company executives were sitting together, and Taylor was sitting right next to Sheldon Mack. The stark, plywood-plank flooring stared back at Taylor and she made a series of little circle indentations in the soft wood with the bottom of her black pumps as the governor droned on.

  “Some time ago, we started a strategic review to look at ways for government to partner with industry to create value in our state. We wanted to break down current paradigms and consider possibilities that our predecessors had never dreamed of before. I am proud to tell you that today that we believe we have met with some great success. We have discovered that in Wisconsin; yes, here in the state of Wisconsin, our research and analysis, confirmed by the university, has found that we have in excess of twenty billion dollars of oil underneath the state lands and neighboring private lands of the Chequamegon State Forest in northern Wisconsin. This find will represent one of the largest single oil discoveries in the history of the United States. With this oil money, we will provide improved resources for the education of our children, the care of our sick and aged, and the training of our less skilled poor. Effective immediately, I will ask the legislature to begin to construct a tax savings plan that will recognize the immense revenue contribution of this discovery and return many of the tax dollars projected for the next few years, back to Wisconsin workers.”

  The noise was deafening. Reporters shouted into their phones. A dozen reporters in the front row jumped up and darted to the front of the podium, jamming microphones into the air, begging for the governor to take questions. The governor was on a roll and enjoying it. Letting things go out of control for a few minutes, the governor then made a motion for the people to quiet down, promising to take questions afterward.

  “This day also marks the beginning of a new partnership; a partnership based on trust and a common vision for the future. For too long, in too many past administrations, we have failed to join forces with strategic business partners in a positive way to build the future. My administration is out to change all of that. At this time, I would like to ask Mr. Richard Jansen of Empire Oil and Mr. Sheldon Mack of Arbor Energy to ple
ase rise and be recognized.”

  There was a smattering of applause from Conlan’s staffers. The press sat with curious silence.

  “These men on the stage with me are senior representatives from some of America’s largest oil companies. I, in close consultation with my leadership team, have asked these men to help us over next few days to evaluate the data and develop drilling plans. I would like to express our thanks to Mr. Richard Jansen and Mr. Sheldon Mack.”

  Taylor saw Jason in the crowd and smiled. Conlan must have invited these “tar-balls,” as Jason called them, immediately after Conlan learned about the discovery. The part about the “close consultation with senior state officials,” was just cracking her up. Nobody was in on Conlan’s scheme. In fact, both the lieutenant governor and the attorney general had called her yesterday, to ask her what the big press conference was about. She had left them clueless, telling them she was totally unaware of what the governor was up to this time. Now Conlan was digging his own grave.

  “Over the last few days, these men have worked closely with me to sign a joint venture agreement, whereby Wisconsin will team with these two companies to drill and produce the oil from this huge new field. Starting on Monday, we will make key digital and seismic data associated with this discovery available to these companies so that we can expedite the drilling process. These men meet the highest tests of integrity and we are fortunate to have them as partners.”

  When Martin told Taylor at the API Conference in Chicago about his plan, she liked it immediately. Martin had made the fake oil tapes. They would arrange to have the tapes “discovered” in the state’s archives. And Conlan would “find out about it” and go crazy. In the meantime, Martin was going to get rich playing the oil market. He had incredible inside information. Taylor had immediately known back in Chicago that she could nail the governor over something like this. She had flashbacks to that dark night back in the wood paneled library at the governor’s mansion, with these same three bastards, Conlan and Mack and Jansen. It had occurred to her that the governor would get together with these snakes behind closed doors on the refinery deal. She had no idea that he would be brazen enough to independently bring them in on this deal without bids or competition or any sense of proper protocol. The effect was essentially to legitimize them as valid players from the start. Like Conlan, the oil companies thought their companies would make billions. Taylor told herself Conlan was certainly getting a million dollars or more under the table on this deal. And the governor was probably getting an unlimited oil company campaign pledge for the rest of the campaign.

  The governor announced that he would take questions. Jason was standing next to a tall, thin, handsome male. Taylor recognized him as one of Jason’s friends from the Milwaukee Journal. Taylor nodded at Jason, and then watched as his friend moved to the front of the pack of reporters vying to ask a question. The first several questions were related to the size of the field and how big the tax cut could be. The governor took his time answering each one of these, savoring the attention as he let slip the few actual facts that they had. When one reporter asked how these oil fields compared to some of the other great finds in the world, the governor was eager to respond. He said that this discovery compared favorably with Oman, a “country the size of Rhode Island that had produced more than one hundred billion dollars’ worth of oil over the last six years.” Taylor smiled politely. Conlan had messed up a few facts, but he was still putting the hundred-billion-dollar number out there. It would be headlines tomorrow. Finally, Jason’s friend had his chance.

  “Governor, obviously there are environmental implications to all of this. We haven’t heard from Taylor Thompson today. My question, Taylor is, do you think this is all real? Are you onboard?”

  There was no way to defer the question the way it had been asked. The question couldn’t be answered by the governor either because it had been directed squarely at Taylor. Frozen for a moment, the governor motioned for Taylor to come to the podium. She slowly rose from her chair and moved graciously and deliberately across the stage to take her place behind the barrage of cameras and microphones. In heels, she was noticeably taller than the governor as they stood side by side. Even more, her composure and presence compared favorably with the seedy governor.

  “You’ve asked a very good question sir. Obviously, there are significant environmental implications to this matter, and I assure you we will deal with them in a diligent and comprehensive manner. However, there is a larger issue: I think it is too early to say very much at all about this so-called gigantic discovery. I am always very supportive of the governor, but I believe we should move forward with caution. And we should only move forward once we have done our homework. Frankly, while the news appears good, I am concerned that if the governor experiences unforeseen difficulties in this entire process, or if the data is wrong, then we will have to hold him accountable. So, I, for one, am recommending a much more slow and deliberate approach to this entire development.”

  At that point, the governor reached with his left hand in front of Taylor and moved the microphone back in his direction. He strained forward to recapture the spotlight and to get control of the situation. The news was still there, and his child-like exuberance still bubbled over, but the enthusiasm in the audience gave way to skepticism and the press conference rapidly came to a close. There were a few more questions, but the press conference was over.

  As she found Jason in the crowd, she asked, “Time for a drink?”

  “It’s practically the middle of the day,” joked Jason. “What if my boss finds out?”

  “I won’t tell her,” said Taylor. They headed to Eno Vino on the top of the Marriott. Amazing views over the Capitol and the three lakes that surround Madison.

  “I don’t know if you know what’s going on here or not,” said Jason. “If you can’t tell me, I don’t want to know.”

  Taylor paused. “Jason, even I don’t know if you could’ve kept this oil discovery a secret. Conlan threatened to fire anybody who leaked it. I couldn’t tell you about the oil.”

  “It’s not the oil discovery I’m talking about; it’s something else,” said Jason. “Either you’re just being petty with the governor and you’re mad at him for stealing your oil reserves discovery, or you sense something bad about this whole deal. Whatever it is, you put a really big target on his head with your comments. If this thing blows up a month from now, they’re going to be playing your comments over and over again until the guy just crawls into a hole.”

  “That’s where rats go, right? Into holes?” Taylor laughed. She had set the trap and Conlan had walked right into it.

  “Girl, you’ve got some attitude today.” Jason was joking, but he wasn’t cracking through her toughness the way he usually did. “All I know is, I think the Governor is going to give his little DNR girl a serious lecture about raining on his parade.”

  “You know what Jason, I’m sick of that old crook. I’m really sick of those snakes he’s always crawling around with and I’m sick of playing his little games. Just so you know, he threatened me with political ruin on that refinery deal and I gave in. This time we’ll see who’s facing political ruin.”

  “So that’s what happened on the refinery expansion, he threatened you?” asked Jason.

  “He threatened me. They all threatened me. Said I needed to be more reasonable and accommodating or else.”

  “Or else… what?”

  “They had pictures of me. Bad pictures of me and the lieutenant governor when we were working the Appleton review.”

  “Oh, shit. You and Clark Everson slept together? Oh, shit. You should have told me.”

  “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but what would I have said? I’m sorry I did it. Clark wasn’t even my type; we were only together twice. Somehow the oil company guys got photos of us.” Taylor took a sip of her drink.

  “Oh, shit,” said Jason, letting out a low whistle. “They had photos.”

&nbs
p; “Hell ya. They showed me a couple. But it’s okay now. Clark even confessed to his wife, said Taylor. “And by the way, I apologized to Clark.”

  “So, Everson’s wife knows?” asked Jason.

  “Yeah, but that’s what Conlan and the oil guys were using to shut me down,” said Taylor. “That’s over. This time I’m taking Conlan down, and you know what? He doesn’t even know it. The guy’s digging his own grave and he’s taking his oil buddies with him. Right now, I just can’t tell you any more than that.”

  “I’m sorry, Taylor. I never should have doubted you. I didn’t know what was going on with the refinery stuff.” Jason was emotional. “I even thought you were on the inside with the governor on this one. If there is anything you need me to do, just tell me. I’ll do anything to bring him down.”

  “I might need your help, but right now I just need you to keep quiet about all of this. It’s business as usual, okay?” Again, Liz smiled.

  Finished with their drinks, together they walked out the door and walked back toward the capitol. Briefcase in her right hand, she reached her left arm around Jason’s waist as they walked. He uneasily slid an arm around her waist as they walked on in silence. Other than an old high five, or that New Year’s Party at his place three years ago, it was one of the only times they had ever even physically touched, much less walked arm-in-arm. They were a great team. Taylor wanted this as much for Jason as she did herself. She understood he would never have any sexual interest in her and that was just fine. He was just a great friend to have on her side of a fight. He deserved a better shot at the top, whether he wanted it or not, and she was going to get it for him.