space was rather full, with the three Packard executives, deputy Brody and all five members of the EDC.
“Public intoxication, disturbing the peace, and giving alcohol to a minor are the three misdemeanors,” Brody began. “Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a class four felony. Witnesses reported he had some young girls up to his place on Elk Mountain. Do the three of you know anything about that?”
Dev shook his head in disgust as all three men remained silent. One of them who Dev knew to be some sort of attorney gave a sidelong glance toward the other two in a way that told Dev he might not be involved. The one on the other end sat stony-face and the one in the middle was sweating profusely.
“Why don’t you tell ‘em about the other charges?” Dev asked when nobody answered. “The ones related to the explosions?”
“All of those charges are felonies.” Brody said it a bit louder and leaned down toward them as he did, going a bit farther than he strictly needed to. This time, Dev wanted him to lay it on thick.
“Conspiracy. Criminal solicitation. Accessory to a crime. Obstruction of justice. Insurance fraud. And those are just the ones that pertain directly to him. The person, or people, who actually set the explosives will be charged with arson and manslaughter. And those are just the criminal cases.”
“The civil cases,” Laura chimed back in, “relate to the people in this town who have been effected. Apart from seeking damages from the company, anyone who was injured or impacted by these crimes, physically or mentally, may want to file suit.”
Cliff cut in next. “And don’t be surprised to see a class action suit from all of the hard-working people who lost their jobs.”
“It’ll be years of litigation,” Dev concluded.
“You can’t threaten us,” the stony-faced one said. “And if I’m not being charged with anything, I’d like to be released.”
“That isn’t a threat—it’s a promise,” Brody cut in.
Janice rolled her eyes.
“Interesting…” Dev trailed off. “We called you here for a business meeting and the place your mind went is that we think you played a role in some of these crimes.”
“If this is a business meeting, what is your business?” asked the attorney type—clearly the smartest of all three—looking around the room before his gaze landed on Dev.
“That, regardless of any criminal proceedings, Cliff here still has a business to run. There are still employees who are out of a job who this company is answerable to, and we haven’t gotten a single straight answer from you about how and when you plan to reopen the mills.”
“If you plan to reopen them at all,” Brody accused.
“As the Economic Development Council for this town,” Laura began, “we are asking you to disclose your intentions and to involve local leadership and this municipality in discussing your plans. It’s considered a standard business courtesy when the jobs that a company provides are tied to the livelihood of a town to actually work with the local government.”
Laura’s lecture might have hit its mark. Two of the three men had the decency to seem chagrined. But Dev was still loading his guns. Negotiating a more equitable demise wasn’t the real goal.
“Or,” Dev threw out there. “…you could consider an alternative that might sound a lot more attractive to you: unwind whatever it is you were planning and sell the mills to the town.”
When three pair of eyes widened in surprise, it made Dev want to roll his. They would have known about all of this a month ago had anyone taken his calls.
“No one in this room is authorized to make that decision,” the lawyer-type said.
“Alright.” Dev responded. “Then you take this message back to whoever is: no riverfront development project is worth the bad press and other trouble we’ll rain down on Packard Industries if you proceed. If you think you’re dealing with an amateur on this, think again. Community redevelopment is what I do best. And if you need any proof of that, google me to find out just how good I am at my job.”
“But you’re a small-town sheriff.” The sweaty one finally spoke, looking hopeful for the first time, something in his eyes just as arrogant as his statement.
“And you’re an idiot,” Cliff spat. “Don’t you come here lookin’ down on us, treating us like some yokels who don’t know shit. I know how to run ten sawmills and take care of the employees who work for this company. What the