“We both did,” Mace said with a bristle. “My father came over from Europe with nothing. He opened a small appliance repair shop back when people still repaired things. He was frugal and saved and managed to buy a couple of apartment buildings. Guy and I parlayed our dad’s holdings into an empire.”
Grant gave his uncle a hard stare and then turned his irritation on Decker. “What does this have to do with his murder?”
“Just trying to get a feel for your family, Mr. Kaffey. It helps to know some background. I’m sorry if you find the questions intrusive.”
Marge stepped in. “Was your father having problems with anything specific? Maybe the embezzling accountant?”
“He was actually an account executive,” Mace said. “Milfred Connors. I think there was talk of a lawsuit, but Guy paid him off.”
“Son of a bitch,” Grant said. “He steals and then he threatens to sue.”
Marge wrote down the name. “So why pay him off?”
“Because it’s easier than a protracted legal battle,” Mace told her.
Grant said, “We had enough lawsuits going already.” He backtracked. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Some we initiated. Some were initiated against us.”
Mace said, “What about Cyclone Inc., Grant? They were really pissed when we pulled the permits for the Greenridge Project.” He turned to Decker. “They’ve been impeding the project for years. We finally got all the permits and approvals, so they don’t have a leg to stand on.”
Decker said, “Why is Cyclone Inc. pissed at you?”
Grant said, “They own the Percivil Galleria and Bennington Mall-both of which have been around for twenty or thirty years. Bennington was knocked for a loop by the Woodbury Commons-one of the busiest outlet malls in the country. But Percivil was doing all right because it’s across the Hudson where there isn’t competition.”
“Then we came on the scene,” Mace said. “Kaffey is developing a state-of-the-art mall that’s going to blow the Galleria out of the water.”
Grant said, “Not only will it include almost every chain and luxury goods store, we’re in the process of developing a resort hotel with two Tumi Addams-designed golf courses.”
Mace said, “One indoors, one outdoors.”
“Golf year-round. Plus we’ve signed on with some of the country’s best chefs to open up restaurants.”
“Wow,” Marge said. “That would blow any existing mall away.”
“Exactly!” Mace crowed.
Decker asked, “Where exactly is the development?”
“Upstate New York in Clarence County surrounded by some of the most beautiful land that ever existed,” Mace said. “The area is filled with ecological nuts, but we did our due diligence. We’ve filed all the necessary environmental impact reports. The whole project is going to be green.”
“Cyclone’s been raising a stink about graft and corruption,” Grant said. “Totally unfounded accusations. Assholes! They’ve already sicced the county tax assessors on our books. We came away clean. We’ve got nothing to hide!”
“Who’s the CEO of Cyclone?” Decker asked.
“Paul Pritchard.” Grant paused. “He’s an asshole, but murder?”
Mace said, “Our project will kill his last profitable mall, Grant. Pritchard’s a bastard, and I wouldn’t put anything past him.” He turned to Decker. “Check him out.”
“We will,” Marge said. “Getting back to the more immediate, does Gil live near your father?”
“Gil lives in L.A. Dad lives on the ranch and in Palos Verde Peninsula. The company is headquartered in Irvine.”
Decker raised an eyebrow. “Not so far from Palos Verdes but far from Coyote Ranch.”
“That was the purpose,” Grant said. “When Dad wanted to get away, he wanted to get away. Initially he bought the property for Mom and her horses, but Dad came to love it. Mostly they entertained at the Palos Verdes house, but every so often they’d give a party at the ranch.” His eyes looked far away. “One winter”-a laugh-“Dad got some snow machines and provided skiing on several man-made runs. The party lasted an entire weekend. That was something else.”
“Was the ranch’s security beefed up for the weekend?” Marge asked.
“Probably. That would be Neptune Brady’s bailiwick. He knew the ins and outs of the ranch better than my parents. Fuckhead! How the hell did this happen? He’s the one you should be questioning, not me.”
Decker said, “He’s on our radar. So far, he’s been cooperative.”
Grant became agitated. “Where the fuck is that doctor? I want to see my brother!”
“Let me go check on it,” Marge said.
“Good idea.” Decker turned to the men. “Thank you both for being so forthright at this very difficult time.”
“Fucking nightmare!” Grant tried to pace, but there wasn’t much floor space. Talking business had seemed to calm him down, giving him something else to think about. The minute he was brought back into his current tragedy, he was perched on the edge of an explosion. And who could blame him?
Decker said, “Do you think that the Greenridge Project will go through in the wake of this tragedy?”
“Absolutely,” Mace said stiffly. “One thing has nothing to do with the other.”
“It’s just that Guy was the CEO, and a project of that magnitude is a mammoth enterprise. It sounds like the biggest shopping mall that Kaffey has developed.”
Grant said, “It’ll be difficult, but we can carry out Greenridge without Dad as long as Gil can take care of the rest of Kaffey.” He shook his head. “God, that’s a huge load.”
Mace said, “It’ll be hard to handle anything without Guy, but we can manage if we work together. We’re not just business associates, we’re family.”
Decker regarded Guy’s younger brother. His pep talk sounded forced-maybe trying to convince himself he was up to the job. Marge came back into the room. “Dr. Rain is just out of surgery. He’ll see you both in his office as soon as he’s cleaned up. Nurse Edderly will be happy to take you to his office.”
Grant punched a fist into his palm. “I don’t want anything to do with that bitch!”
“I’ll be happy to take you,” Marge said.
“Thank you,” Mace said. “Are you staying with us?”
“We need to get back to the ranch.” To the crime scene, Decker thought. “I also want to check out these two men you mentioned-Paul Pritchard and Milfred Connors.”
“Connors was a low-level con man,” Grant said. “He’s a nothing.”
“Sometimes it’s the nothings who get pissed off,” Mace told him.
“Exactly,” Decker said. “Here are some business cards, gentlemen. Call me anytime.”
“And here’s my card,” Grant countered. “That’s a business number. You can call it anytime. If it’s important, you can leave your number and I’ll be paged.”
“Thank you,” Decker said. “Uh…just one last question. Do either of you know Spanish?”
“What?” Mace said.
“What’s that about?” Grant asked.
“A lot of people who work at the ranch are Hispanic. In California, Hispanics do a lot of construction work. Just wondering if you and your dad and your brother can communicate with them directly.”
“Of course we visit the job sites, but we don’t talk directly to the men,” Mace told him.
“Why would we do that?” Grant asked. “That’s why we employ foremen.”
SIX
ONCE BEHIND THE wheel, Marge got comfortable in her seat and spoke while adjusting the mirrors.
“I’d love to see the company’s financials on Greenridge, especially in this current climate. Sounds like something that was born in real estate boomland and is currently moribund in bustville.”