Ecuperating - Chapter 27

Jayne sat at her computer for an hour to no avail. She felt she just didn’t have enough information yet to determine which direction this book would take. Well, that’s not true. She had enough information, but she knew there was more information out there about to come to her and it would be to no avail to try to second guess what that information might be.

She decided to wait until she had the entire picture before starting the book. She had just turned her computer off, stretched and headed for the kitchen for a snack when her phone rang. It was Carl.

“Carl! Good to hear from you so quickly. Did you find out who this guy is for me?”

she asked him.

“I might have,” Carl said.

“This guy doesn’t seem to have any pictures of him anywhere. In fact, I tried to get pictures of the owners of Personal Securities, Inc. and came against a blank wall everywhere I went. None exist, evidently. I get lots of pictures of second level management, but none of the management.

ButI thought of your guy in Newberry so I gave him a call and asked him if he knew any of the members of Lodge 16. He said he could recognize a few so I sent him the picture of your guy there. He’s pretty sure your guy is actually Eric Tanner the second or whatever he calls himself.

He hasn’t seen him in a handful of years, but he’s quite sure that’s who it is. Either it’s him or his older brother Jess. He says they look like twins except his brother is twenty five years older than he is. His money says he’s Eric. If it is him, he’s the CEO of Personal Securities, Inc.

The man himself. The question isWhat the hell is he doing out there with you? It has to be damned important for him to take the kind of time he’s taking with you. Hell, he has about 100,000 employees!”

“You don’t think it might be my magnetic personality?” Jayne laughed.

“Or my fabulous body?”

“Well, maybe,” Carl said,

“But I kind of doubt it. With his money and connections he could probably have just about anything and anybody he wants. I did get some info though. His wife was killed in a car accident two years ago.”

“I think we may have our man.” Jayne nodded.

“This afternoon he was telling me his wife was killed in a car accident two years ago. I don’t believe in that much of a coincidence. He’s our man. How old is he?”

“According to my information, his older brother is 61 and he would be 36. He turned white when he was 25. Something to do with a vitamin D deficiency or some such thing. Probably genetic. His brother is all white too.” Carl offered.

“What should I do now?” Jayne asked.

“It’s going to be damn hard not to bring it up now that I know who he is.”

“You have nothing to lose by playing it out his

way,” Carl said.

“I’d still play dumb, just to see where this is going to lead. As I said, he’s there for an important reason. His time has got to be valuable. To spend it asking you your views on gay marriage doesn’t compute. There’s another agenda there. Find out what it is. It might just be fun now that you know who he really is!”

“I’ll play it that way for awhile. I just hope he confesses before I have to kill him!” she laughed.

Jayne met Brett for lunch the next day at the Sherwood Forest Caf. She had played some poker in the morning, losing a few hundred in the process. She wasn’t a really happy camper. Look out Mr. Tanner! She thought.

Lunch was almost a replay of the day before. The clam chowder turned out to be Beef Barley today, and Jayne went for a tossed salad. Small talk brought them to coffee at the counter again.

“What should we cover today, Brett?” she asked as they settled back in their chairs.

“We’ve tried just about everything I can think of. I hate it when I settle the problems of the world in two days like that!” she laughed again.

“I think your readers might be interested in how you feel about environmental issues. That’s always a hot issue.” Brett said thoughtfully.

“How about oil exploration?”

“Good question. Unfortunately it isn’t one I’ve thought about a lot, so my views aren’t solidified. I have mixed feelings on this issue. I think all of us should feel a responsibility to have a clean environment. Throwing your garbage out of your car or by the roadside as I see in this state is bad. If you move one block off the strip, it looks like a dump ground. There certainly is no pride here in Vegas to make the city look good.

“That’s just part of it. I think all companies also should have that same responsibility, and I think that they don’t really have it. The public has to force them to clean up their act. At the same time, I don’t go along with domestic terrorism to force them to do that.

The courts are the way to go on that. But let’s not get ridiculous there either. To use a small fish as an excuse to stop a needed expansion isn’t the way to go. There has to be alternatives. There has to be compromise.