Part 16 (1/2)
”Yep. That's how it works.”
”Does she get a share of the profits?”
”Nope. When you lease, you lease up front and give up your rights to anything we find on the property,” Corey said. ”That number that caught you off-guard? I wasn't kidding. It really is more than fair. But whatever we are able to take from beneath your property is ours after you lease the rights to us.”
”Is the land usable during the process?”
”Depends,” he said. ”Here? Sure, your backyard would be okay. We'd use a small crew and it would be pretty un.o.btrusive. There would be days when it wouldn't be, but most of the time, it would be okay.”
”Yeah, except for all the c.r.a.p you'd drop into the water supply,” Victor said, raising an eyebrow.
Corey rolled his eyes. ”Our process is safe and environmentally sound.”
”So was Chern.o.byl.”
”That makes no sense.”
Victor waved a small hand at him. ”Whatever, Slick.”
Corey turned his attention back to me. ”So, here, it would be a minor inconvenience. But there? Our process will be pretty extensive due to the excessive amount of shale beneath the surface. It won't be usable until we're done with it.”
”So the fair couldn't be held there next April?” I asked.
He shook his head. ”No way. Nothing will be able to be held there. It'll be in full swing at that point. But she said she had a lead on another location.” He shrugged. ”Sounds like she's got it all figured out.”
It sure did.
32.
Victor waved a BBQ-slathered rib in the air. ”This town is insane.”
Julianne and Carly had already finished their food and were inside, getting Carly ready for their girls' night at the fair. Victor and I were polis.h.i.+ng off the remainder of the ribs, has.h.i.+ng over our meeting with Corey Stewart.
”Tell me something I don't know,” I said, finis.h.i.+ng my last rib and the rest of my beer. ”I've lived here my entire life.”
”I mean, you guys are really nuts,” he said, shaking his round head. ”It's like Fantasyland crossed with Oz here.”
I nodded. He wasn't entirely wrong. Rose Petal wouldn't have been Rose Petal without some sort of insane drama playing out.
”So here's my question,” Victor said, wiping his hands on a napkin. ”What exactly did George Spellman know?”
I thought for a moment. ”The only thing we know for sure is that he ran into Stewart on the fairgrounds that morning. That's the only certainty we have and, even with that, we have two different accounts.”
”I believe the sales guy,” Victor said, grabbing his beer. ”Yeah, he's kind of a dipstick, but I think his story makes sense.”
”Why?”
”If Spellman got punched, like the other broad said, wouldn't other people have noticed? Wouldn't there have been a black eye or something like that?”
That made sense. ”I suppose.”
”So I think this dude went to the fairgrounds to do his measuring or whatever it is he does, and Spellman surprised him. Spellman got all indignant about his being there, got a little handsy, and got knocked down,” Victor said, drinking the beer, then setting the bottle down. ”And I don't think Stewart told him squat about the land deal.”
”Why not?”
”Because he doesn't seem the type,” Victor answered. ”That guy cares about one thing. Commission. No way he would've fouled up a big old deal like that by giving away details that he was supposed to keep to himself.”
”But he just gave them away to us.”
”Because we threatened him,” Victor said with a smile. ”And because we are scary and intimidating.”
”Right.”
”But Spellman could've easily made the jump,” Victor continued. ”A guy from that company, surveying the grounds. He could've put two and two together to figure out that something was cooking.”
I pushed my plate away. ”So maybe that's what he was talking about when he told that group that he knew something.”
”Those tree-huggers? C.A.K.E.?”
”Yeah. He told them something was happening, that he needed to find out more. So maybe he has the fight with Stewart and realizes what's going on.”
”And then he tells his girlfriend he went to the old bag, she tells him not to worry about it, he says he's going to go to the board meeting and make it public and-boom,” Victor said, raising an eyebrow. ”He's dead.”
I nodded. It all fit together and definitely seemed connected. Somebody didn't want George letting people know about what was going down in Rose Petal. And it all sort of pointed squarely at one person.
33.
”Find any more dead bodies?” Tom asked as he dealt the first hand.
After the ribs, Victor and I made plans to meet the following day at the fair. The girls headed off to their evening of fun and, as it was the last Friday of the month, that meant I was off to my monthly dorky dads poker night. Yes, it was fair week and everyone was busy, but some things were too important to mess with. The fact that each of us had quickly responded to Tom's e-mail, saying we were available, told me that everyone needed a night away from the fair and their families as much as I did.
”Not yet,” I said, fanning through the cards he dealt me and frowning. ”But I might kill you if these are the kind of cards I'm gonna see all night.”
He chuckled.
”Do we have a plan in place in case your wife decides to have the baby tonight?” Paul asked from across the table, his eyes on his cards.
”A plan?” I asked. ”Yeah. I'll tear out of here and get her to the hospital.”
Jeff rubbed his chin. ”Hmm. We'll just hold onto your money, then, until you get back.”
”Or, we could play for you,” Brandon suggested, raising an eyebrow.
”I like that,” Mark said. ”That works. A chance for you to earn while you're gone.”