"Yes, but the land is not on the market. The sellers don"t really want to sell, so we have to sneak in quickly, before the MGM story leaks, and s.n.a.t.c.h it. That"s why we need a local agent. If word hits the street that a big company from Vegas is looking at the land, it"ll go to twenty thousand an acre. Happens all the time."
The fact that the land was not on the market caused Hoppy"s heart to stutter. No other realtors were involved! Just him. Just little Hoppy and his full six percent commission. His ship had finally come in. He, Hoppy Dupree, after decades of selling duplexes to pensioners, was about to make a killing.
Not to mention the "marketing of Stillwater Bay." All those houses and condos and commercial properties, h.e.l.l thirty million dollars" worth of red-hot property with Dupree Realty signs hanging all over it. Hoppy could be a millionaire in five years, he decided on the spot.
Ringwald moved in. "I"m a.s.suming your commission is eight percent. That"s what we normally pay."
"Of course," Hoppy said, the words rushing forward over a very dry tongue. From three hundred thousand to four hundred thousand, just like that. "Who are the sellers?" he asked, quickly changing the subject now that they"d agreed on eight percent.
Ringwald allowed a noticeable sigh and his shoulders sagged, but only for an instant. "This is where it gets complicated." Hoppy"s heart sank.
"The property is in the sixth district of Hanc.o.c.k County," Ringwald said slowly. "And the sixth district is the domain of a county supervisor by the name of-"
"Jimmy Hull Moke," Hoppy interrupted, with no small measure of sadness.
"You know him?"
"Everybody knows Jimmy Hull. He"s been in office for thirty years. Slickest crook on the Coast."
"Do you know him personally?"
"No. Only by reputation."
"Which we"ve heard is rather shady."
"Shady is a compliment to Jimmy Hull. On a local level, the man controls everything in his end of the county."
Ringwald offered a puzzled look as if he and his company had no clue about how to proceed. Hoppy rubbed his sad eyes and plotted to keep his fortune. They made no eye contact for a full minute, then Ringwald said, "It"s not wise to buy the land unless we can get some a.s.surances from Mr. Moke and the local people. As you know, there will be a maze of regulatory approvals for the project."
"Planning, zoning, architectural review, soil erosion, you name it," Hoppy said, as if he fought these wars every day.
"We"ve been told that Mr. Moke controls all of this."
"With an iron fist."
Another pause.
"Perhaps we should arrange a meeting with Mr. Moke," Ringwald said.
"I don"t think so."
"Why not?"
"Meetings don"t work."
"I"m not following you."
"Cash. Pure and simple. Jimmy Hull likes it under the table, large sacks of it in unmarked bills."
Ringwald nodded with a solemn grin as if this was unfortunate but not unexpected. "So we"ve heard," he said, almost to himself. "Actually, this is not unusual, especially in areas where casinos have appeared. There"s lots of fresh foreign money and people get greedy."
"Jimmy Hull was born greedy. He was stealing thirty years before casinos appeared here."
"He doesn"t get caught?"
"No. For a local supervisor, he"s pretty bright. Everything"s in cash, no trail, he covers himself carefully. Then again, it doesn"t take a rocket scientist." Hoppy tapped his forehead lightly with a handkerchief. He bent forward and removed two tumblers from a lower drawer, then a bottle of vodka. He poured two stiff drinks and placed one across the desk in front of Ringwald. "Cheers," he said before Ringwald touched his gla.s.s.
"So what do we do?" Ringwald asked.
"What do you normally do do in situations like this?" in situations like this?"
"We normally find a way to work with the local authorities. There"s too much money involved to pack up and go home."
"How do you work with local authorities?"
"We have ways. We have contributed money to reelection campaigns. We have honored our friends with expensive vacations. We"ve paid consulting fees to spouses and children."
"You ever paid bribes in hard cash?"
"Well, I"d rather not say."
"That"s what it"ll take. Jimmy Hull is a simple man. Just cash." Hoppy took a long sip and smacked his lips.
"How much?"
"Who knows. But it"d better be enough. You low-ball him up front, he"ll kill your project later. And he"ll keep the cash. Jimmy Hull doesn"t do refunds."
"You sound like you know him rather well."
"Those of us who wheel and deal along the Coast know how he plays the game. He"s sort of a local legend."
Ringwald shook his head in disbelief. "Welcome to Mississippi," Hoppy said, then took another sip. Ringwald had not touched his drink.
For twenty-five years Hoppy had played it straight, and he had no plans to compromise himself now. The money wasn"t worth the risk. He had kids, a family, a reputation, standing in the community. Church occasionally. The Rotary Club. And just exactly who was this stranger sitting across his desk in the fancy suit and designer loafers, offering the world if only one minor agreement could be reached? He, Hoppy, would certainly get on the phone and check out KLX Property Group and Mr. Todd Ringwald as soon as he left the office.
"This is not unusual," Ringwald said. "We see it all the time."
"Then what do you do?"
"Well, I think our first step is to approach Mr. Moke and determine the likelihood of a deal."
"He"ll be ready to deal."
"Then we determine the terms of the deal. As you put it, well decide how much cash." Ringwald paused and took a tiny sip of his drink. "Are you willing to be involved?"
"I don"t know. In what way?"
"We don"t know anyone in Hanc.o.c.k County. We try to keep a low profile. We"re from Vegas. If we start asking questions, then the entire project gets blown."
"You want me to talk to Jimmy Hull?"
"Only if you want to be involved. If not, then well be forced to find someone else."
"I have a clean reputation," Hoppy said, with astounding firmness, then swallowed hard at the thought of a compet.i.tor raking in his four hundred thousand.
"We don"t expect you to get dirty." Ringwald paused and groped for the right words. Hoppy was pulling for him. "Let"s just say that we have ways of delivering what Mr. Moke wants. You won"t have to touch it. In fact, you won"t know when it happens."
Hoppy sat straighter as a burden lifted itself from his shoulders. Perhaps there was some middle ground here. Ringwald and his company did this all the time. They"d probably dealt with crooks much more sophisticated than Jimmy Hull Moke. "I"m listening," he said.
"Your fingers are on the pulse here. We"re obviously outsiders, so we"ll rely on you. Let me give you a scenario. You tell me if it"ll work. What if you meet with Mr. Moke, just the two of you, and you tell him in broad strokes about the development? Our names are not mentioned, you simply have this client who wants to work with him. He"ll name his price. If it"s within our range, then you tell him it"s a deal. We"ll take care of the delivery, and you never know for certain if the cash actually changes hands. You"ve done nothing wrong. He"s happy. We"re happy because we"re about to make a pot full of money, along with you, I might add."
Hoppy liked it! None of the mud could stick to his hands. Let his client and Jimmy Hull do their dirty work. He"d stay out of the gutter and simply turn his head. Still, he was overcome by caution. He said he"d like to think about it.
They chatted some more, looked at the plans once again, and said good-bye at eight. Ringwald was to call early Friday morning.
Before heading home, Hoppy dialed the number on Ringwald"s business card. An efficient receptionist in Las Vegas said, "Good afternoon, KLX Property Group." Hoppy smiled, then asked to speak to Todd Ringwald. The call was routed, with soft rock in the background, to Mr. Ringwald"s office where Hoppy spoke to Madeline, an a.s.sistant of some variety who explained that Mr. Ringwald was out of town and not expected back until Monday. She asked who was calling, and Hoppy quickly hung up.
There now. KLX was indeed legitimate.
INCOMING PHONE CALLS were stopped at the front desk where they were recorded on yellow message slips and forwarded to Lou Dell, who then distributed them like the Easter Bunny pa.s.sing out chocolate eggs. The one from George Teaker arrived at seven-forty Thursday night, and was delivered to Lonnie Shaver, who was skipping the movie and working with his computer. He called Teaker at once, and for the first ten minutes answered nothing but questions about the trial. Lonnie confessed that it had been a bad day for the defense. Lawrence Krigler had made a noticeable impact on the jurors, all except for Lonnie, of course. Lonnie had not been impressed, he a.s.sured Teaker. The folks in New York were certainly worried, Teaker said more than once. They"re awfully relieved that Lonnie was on the jury and could be counted on no matter what, but things looked dim. Or did they?
Lonnie said it was too early to tell.
Teaker said they needed to tie up the loose ends of the employment contract. Lonnie could think of only one loose end, and that was how much his new salary would be. He currently made forty thousand dollars. Teaker said SuperHouse would raise him to fifty thousand with some stock options, and a performance-based bonus that might hit twenty thousand.
They wanted him to start a management training course in Charlotte as soon as the trial was over. Mention of the trial brought on another round of questions about the mood of the jury.
An hour later, Lonnie stood at his window, watched the parking lot, and tried to convince himself he was about to earn seventy thousand dollars a year. Three years ago, he made twenty-five thousand.
Not bad for a kid whose father drove a milk truck for three bucks an hour.
Eighteen On Friday morning, The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story about Lawrence Krigler and his testimony of the day before. Written by Agner Layson, who"d so far not missed a word of the trial, the story did a fair job of describing what the jury heard. Then Layson speculated about Krigler"s impact on the jury. The remaining half of the article tried to peel skin off Krigler with quotes from the good old boys at ConPack, formerly Allegheny Growers. Not surprisingly, there were vehement denials of almost everything Krigler said. The company had not conducted a study of nicotine in the 1930s, or at least no one around now knew about any such study. It was a long time ago. No one at ConPack had ever seen the infamous memo. Probably just a figment of Krigler"s imagination. It was not common knowledge in the tobacco industry that nicotine was addictive. Levels of the poison were not kept artificially high by ConPack, or any other manufacturer for that matter. The company would not admit, in fact denied again in print, that nicotine was addictive in the first place. ran a front-page story about Lawrence Krigler and his testimony of the day before. Written by Agner Layson, who"d so far not missed a word of the trial, the story did a fair job of describing what the jury heard. Then Layson speculated about Krigler"s impact on the jury. The remaining half of the article tried to peel skin off Krigler with quotes from the good old boys at ConPack, formerly Allegheny Growers. Not surprisingly, there were vehement denials of almost everything Krigler said. The company had not conducted a study of nicotine in the 1930s, or at least no one around now knew about any such study. It was a long time ago. No one at ConPack had ever seen the infamous memo. Probably just a figment of Krigler"s imagination. It was not common knowledge in the tobacco industry that nicotine was addictive. Levels of the poison were not kept artificially high by ConPack, or any other manufacturer for that matter. The company would not admit, in fact denied again in print, that nicotine was addictive in the first place.
Pynex also delivered a few potshots, all from unnamed sources. Krigler was a corporate misfit. He fancied himself a serious scientific researcher when in fact he was just an engineer. His work with Raleigh 4 was seriously flawed. Production of that leaf was totally impractical. The death of his sister seriously affected his work and conduct. He was quick to threaten litigation. There was a strong hint that the out-of-court settlement thirteen years earlier had been heavily weighted in Pynex"s favor.
A short, related story tracked the movement of Pynex common, which had closed at seventy-five and a half, down three points in heavy trading after a late rally.
Judge Harkin read the story an hour before the jury arrived. He called Lou Dell at the Siesta Inn to make sure there was no way any of the jurors could see it. She a.s.sured him they would get only the local dailies, all censored as per his instructions. She rather enjoyed cutting out the stories about the trial. Occasionally she would scissor out an unrelated story, just for the fun of it, just to make them wonder what they were missing. How could they ever know?
HOPPY DUPREE slept little. After washing the dishes and vacuuming the den, he talked to Millie on the phone for almost an hour. She was in good spirits.
He left his bed at midnight to sit on the porch and ponder KLX and Jimmy Hull Moke and the fortune that was out there, almost within reach. The money would be used for the kids, he had determined before he left the office. No more junior colleges. No more part-time jobs. They"d have the best schools. A larger house would be nice, but only because the kids were cramped. He and Millie could live anywhere; such simple tastes.
No debt whatsoever. After taxes, he"d put the money in two places-mutual funds and real estate. He"d buy small commercial properties with solid leases. He could think of a half-dozen already.
The agreement with Jimmy Hull Moke worried him to no end. He"d simply never been involved with graft, never, to his knowledge, gotten near it. He had a cousin who sold used cars and got himself sent away for three years for double and triple mortgaging his inventory. Wrecked his marriage. Ruined his children.
At some point before dawn, he became oddly comforted by the reputation of Jimmy Hull Moke. The man had fine-tuned the practice of corruption and made it an art form. He had become quite wealthy on a meager public servant"s salary. And everybody knew it!
Surely Moke would know precisely how to handle the agreement without getting caught. Hoppy wouldn"t get near the cash, wouldn"t even know for sure if and when it was delivered.
He ate a Pop-Tart for breakfast and determined the risk to be minimal. He"d have a safe chat with Jimmy Hull, let the conversation run whatever course Jimmy Hull wanted because they"d soon enough get to the issue of cash, and then he"d report to Ringwald. He thawed frozen cinnamon swirls for the kids, left their lunch money on the kitchen counter, and went to the office at eight.
FOR THE DAY after Krigler the defense adopted a gentler style. It was imperative to seem relaxed, unbothered by the severe blow the plaintiff had delivered yesterday. The pack of them wore suits of lighter shades, soft grays and blues and even a khaki. Gone were the harsh blacks and navys. Gone too were the serious frowns of men overburdened with their own importance. The instant the door opened and the first juror appeared, wide toothy smiles appeared from behind the defense table. Even a couple of chuckles. What a laid-back bunch.
Judge Harkin said h.e.l.lo, but there were few smiles inside the jury box. It was Friday, which meant the weekend started soon, a weekend to be spent incarcerated at the Siesta Inn. It had been decided over breakfast that Nicholas would pa.s.s a note to the Judge and ask him to explore the possibility of working Sat.u.r.day. The jurors would rather be in court trying to finish this ordeal than sitting around their rooms doing nothing but thinking about it.
Most of them noticed the stupid grins from Cable and company. They noticed the summer suits, the jovial air, the humorous whispers. "Why are they so d.a.m.ned happy?" Loreen Duke whispered under her breath as Harkin read his list of questions.
"They want us to think everything"s under control," Nicholas whispered back. "Just glare at them."
Wendall Rohr stood and called the next witness. "Dr. Roger Bunch," he said with an air of greatness. He watched the jury for reactions to the name.
It was Friday. There would be no reactions from the jury.
Bunch had gained fame a decade earlier when, as Surgeon General of the United States, he had been a relentless critic of the tobacco industry. For the six years he"d served, he had instigated countless studies, directed frontal a.s.saults, given a thousand anti-smoking speeches, written three books on the subject, and pushed agencies for tougher regulatory controls. His victories had been few and far between. Since leaving office, he had continued his crusade with a talent for publicity.
He was a man of many opinions and he was anxious to share them with the jury. The evidence was conclusive-cigarettes caused lung cancer. Every professional medical organization in the world that had addressed the issue had determined that smoking cigarettes caused lung cancer. The only organizations with contrary opinions were the manufacturers themselves and their hired mouthpieces-lobbying groups and the like.
Cigarettes are addictive. Ask any smoker who"s tried to quit. The industry claims smoking is a matter of free choice. "Typical hogwash from the tobacco companies," he said with disgust. In fact, during his six years as Surgeon General he released three separate studies, each of which proved conclusively that cigarettes are addictive.
Tobacco companies spend billions misleading the public. They conduct studies which claim to prove smoking is virtually harmless. They spend 2 billion a year on advertising alone, then claim people make informed choices about whether or not to smoke. It"s simply not true. People, especially teenagers, receive confusing signals. Smoking appears to be fun, sophisticated, even healthy.
They spend tons of money on all sorts of screwball studies which they claim will prove whatever they"re a.s.serting. The industry as a whole is notorious for lying and covering up. The companies refuse to stand behind their products. They advertise and promote like mad, but when one of their customers dies from lung cancer they claim the person should have known better.
Bunch did a study proving cigarettes contain insecticide and pesticide residue, asbestos fibers, unidentified junk and trash swept from floors. While sparing no expense on advertising, the companies do not go to the trouble and expense of properly cleaning poisonous residues from their tobacco.
He directed a project which showed how tobacco companies elusively target the young; how they target the poor; how they develop and advertise certain brands for the different s.e.xes and cla.s.ses.
Because he was once the Surgeon General, Dr. Bunch was permitted to share his opinions on a wide range of subjects. At times throughout the morning he was unable to conceal his loathing for the tobacco industry, and when the bitterness leaked through his credibility suffered. But he connected with the jury. There were no yawns or blank stares.
TODD RINGWALD was of the firm opinion that the meeting should take place in Hoppy"s office, on his turf where Jimmy Hull Moke would be caught off guard. Hoppy presumed this made sense. He was really at a loss for the proper customs in these matters. He got lucky and found Moke at home, puttering with his bush-hog and heading on over to Biloxi later in the day anyway. Moke claimed he knew of Hoppy, had heard of him at some point. Hoppy said it was a very important matter involving a potentially big development in Hanc.o.c.k County. They agreed on lunch, a quick sandwich in Hoppy"s office. Moke said he knew exactly where Hoppy was located.
For some reason, three part-time sales a.s.sociates loitered in the front of the office as noon approached. One chatted with a boyfriend on the phone. One scanned the cla.s.sifieds. One was apparently waiting for the pinochle. With great difficulty, Hoppy dispatched them to the streets where the real estate was to be found. He didn"t want anyone around when Moke appeared.
The offices were deserted when Jimmy Hull walked through the door in jeans and cowboy boots. Hoppy greeted him with a nervous handshake and a jittery voice and showed him to his office in the back where his desk was set with two deli sandwiches and iced teas. They talked about local politics, casinos, and fishing as they ate, though Hoppy"s appet.i.te was nil. His stomach flipped with fear and his hands wouldn"t stop shaking. He then cleared the desk and produced the artist"s rendering of Stillwater Bay. Ringwald had delivered it earlier, and it contained no clue as to who was behind the project. Hoppy gave a quick ten-minute summary of the proposed development, and found himself getting stronger. He made a very nice presentation, if he said so himself.
Jimmy Hull stared at the drawing, rubbed his chin, and said, "Thirty million dollars huh?"
"At least," Hoppy answered. His bowels were suddenly loose.
"And who"s doing it?"
Hoppy had practiced his answer, and he delivered it with convincing authority. He simply couldn"t divulge the name, not at this point. Jimmy Hull liked the secrecy. He asked questions, all of which had to do with money and financing. Hoppy answered most of them.