Part 73 (1/2)

relieved Maggie considerably, and she leaned back into her

chair and relaxed a little, waiting to see how this smooth-

-talking developer from California planned to convince them

otherwise. She hoped folks would remain dubious, remem-

bering Greg and Rick's questionable methods for attaining

the ir land. The townspeople were smart. Surely they couldn't

be persuaded by a charlatan, no matter how good-looking

e was!

Cohn continued. ”Now, I understand that I've gotten

bad press up here.” He laughed lightly. ”Well, that's

ot surprising because I've gotten some bad press down in

me 116Melody Carlson

California too. But I'd like the chance to explain a few

things. I'm sure you all believe that a man should be allowed

to defend himself-after all, isn't a man still innocent until

proven guilty? Anyway, it just so happens that land devel-

opment is a highly compet.i.tive business, especially where I

come from. It's a real dog-eat-dog world down there. And

there are those who will resort to anything to discredit a

man's reputation. But I'm not a spiteful person, and most of

the time I don't fight back. I allow the success of my devel-

opments to speak for itself. Now, if you'll allow me-Rick

you will want to get that video going now-and Greg,

maybe you'd like to dim the lights. We'll let the good folks

of Pine Mountain judge me for themselves.

Maggie sat up straighter to see the big-screen TV set up