The Edge

“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?”