Dak said, “Well, understand this. Jenny’s share of the sale, if it happens, will go into a trust to promote conservation and protect endangered species in Maine.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I know that’s what she would have wanted. So don’t go thinking that I knocked off my sister for money. That deal alone will give us all more money than we would ever need.”
“Thanks for the clarification. When did you hear about Jenny’s death?”
“I was in Boston that night. Had a meeting with a business I’m trying to get to open a location in Putnam. It’s one of those gym franchises. Healthy people make for a healthy community. I got a call from Chief Harper. I was asleep in my hotel room when my phone rang. Scared the shit out of me. It was like three in the morning.” Dak looked down at his drink. “At first I thought it was folks calling about Dad. I’d prepared myself for that for a while now.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Devine quietly.
He shook his head. “But not Jenny. I couldn’t believe it. I thought he was out of his fucking mind. I didn’t even know Jenny was in town. I’ll admit we weren’t as close as we were when we were kids, but she usually let us know when she was coming up.”
“So any ideas on why she didn’t this time?”
Dak shook his head. “I’ve been letting that rattle around in my head ever since I got that call. The thing is, she doesn’t usually come up this time of year. There’s not that much to do. Sometimes she’d go sailing right off the coast. And she liked deep-sea fishing. But you don’t do that now. Or she’d just walk or bike around, go for hikes. Again, that stuff is better left to the summers or fall. And Jenny was here during the summer. We met up a few times, talked about Dad and the old days. She seemed really good.”
“She didn’t mention anything out of the ordinary, any unfinished business up here?”
“Unfinished business? Like what?”
“I don’t know. It’s why I’m asking.”
“No, nothing like that. She seemed, well, like the old Jenny.”
“What about Alex? Where was she when Jenny died?”
Devine had forgotten to ask the woman, but he could do so later and compare it to what Dak told him.
“At that time of night she’d have been at the house asleep.”
“So you two didn’t talk about that?”
“If you want the truth, Alex and I don’t really talk all that much.”
“What happened to her?”
Dak shot him a troubled look. “What do you mean?”
“I was told that she was assaulted many years ago. And the person who did it got away. But that it changed her.”
“Who did you hear that from?”
“Is it not true?”
Dak finished off his drink. “Yes, it’s true. But she wasn’t just assaulted. She was raped, beaten, and left for dead.”
Devine flinched. Harvey Watkins hadn’t told him Alex had been raped. But maybe he didn’t know. Watkins had said it had all been hushed up.
“Alex couldn’t ID her attacker?”
“No, she couldn’t for some reason. I was never clear on why.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“I was pulling a deployment in Germany. With the different time zones it was hard to keep up with life back here. I heard snatches of what happened. I tried to get leave to come home, but apparently your sister getting raped wasn’t a big enough deal for the Army to allow that. When I finally got back no one was talking about it. Everybody was actually walking around on eggshells.”
“But she was different?”
“Yeah, she sure as hell was. If I ever catch the son of a bitch that did it—”
“So no leads or anything?”
“Apparently not. The cops concluded it was some stranger.”
Devine decided to shift gears. “Do you know Annie Palmer?”
Dak looked at him suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”
“Just trying to understand as much as I can about this place and its dynamics.”
“I know her. In fact, we dated off and on a few years ago.”
“Didn’t work out?”
“Hell, Devine, we weren’t looking to get married, just have some fun.”
“And did you?”
“Yeah, she was cool. Nice girl. Why, did she say different?”
“No, I didn’t even talk to her about you,” said Devine.
“I’ve dated lots of women. And we all had good times. Up here, that’s important. Otherwise you could go stir-crazy.”
“But you have all your business interests.”
“Business is business, pleasure is something else.”
Devine decided to change gears. “So what’s your criteria for investing? Free cash flow in what time period? ROI minimums? Growth prospects? Do you have a typical exit strategy or do you just reexamine every so often? And what’s your stop loss plan? And do you invest solo or with a fund or a syndicate?”
“You sound like you know your way around a balance sheet and P and L statement.”
“I have my MBA. Worked on Wall Street for a time.”
“Why the hell did you leave? You make it there you had to be pulling in serious bucks.”
“Just wasn’t for me.”
“Okay,” Dak said incredulously. “I have some financial backers for my investments. That was another reason why I was in Boston, to meet with them. I’ve got a proven track record, so they trust me. We like to be cash flow positive within eighteen months, but there’s wiggle room there on a case-by-case basis. Exit within five years unless there’s a compelling reason to get out earlier or stay in longer. Flexibility is the key. ROI expectation is high. A hundred percent is the minimum. We shoot for the moon.”
“Do you insist on board representation?”
“We always take at least one board seat and more depending on our investment piece. But keep in mind this is not Apple or Google, these are start-ups. They actually need our business expertise. I usually like to have my hand in, and we just closed our twentieth deal last month. And the other nineteen? I think we’re going to hit home runs in all but two.”
“That’s a much higher percentage than the Wall Street boys have.”
“I get to really dig into the business plans and meet the people before the dollars go in. And then I’m right here watching my investment and jumping in or pulling the plug if I have to.”
“You ever think of going somewhere else?”
“Every second of every day. But I’ve got time on my side and a plan, a big one.”
“The new Silkwell empire?”
“The new Dak empire.”
The two men ate their meal and then went their separate ways.
As Devine was walking back to the inn, he looked to the sky, which was growing cloudy. The wind was picking up. He could feel the barometric pressure dropping as the storm system moved in. He was halfway back to the inn when he was confronted by three men who stepped out from the darkness in a particularly lonely area of Putnam. And these men were not drunk and stupid local yokels like the ones who had followed him out of the bar. They got Devine’s immediate attention primarily for one reason.
They look like me right before I go into battle. Calm, focused, and lethal.
Chapter 27
Three guns to his one made it a quick end to a fight that never materialized. Devine was disarmed and pulled into an alley, where his hands were zip-tied behind him, and then he was taken to an SUV with blacked-out windows that was parked there. No hood was put over his head and he wasn’t blindfolded.
They aren’t worried about me knowing where I’m going because they know I won’t be coming back.
He studied the three men. One driving and one on either side of him. They hadn’t uttered a word; they had let their weapons and hand signals do the messaging.