Stealing Luca's Heart (4 page)

Graham was the youngest CEO in Eurostar’s corporate history and their secret weapon. The board of directors was continually impressed with his abilities to convert the targeted turbine locations into running operations all over the world. No other energy company came close to the amount of green energy Eurostar was producing. His management team never questioned why he handled the negotiating and much of the initial leg work himself instead of delegating. He assumed they thought he was a controlling workaholic. He knew they were partially right.

John’s co-op collectively owned land Eurostar Energy wanted for a wind turbine farm in Northern England. Eurostar had flown these men first class to London, sprung for a five-star hotel, bused them out to this site, and paid for all their expenses and meals. Most of the time, all it would take would be for the landowners to view an operating wind farm, and they were persuaded to lease their land to Eurostar. This part of his job was routine. But their complaining today was grating and excessive, especially considering the effort his company was making to impress them.

“Gentlemen, I’ll just be a minute,” he announced, walking back to his black Land Rover that was parked behind the tour bus. He climbed in and turned on the engine and the heater for his leather seats. He took out his phone and scrolled down his messages, deciding to return his assistant’s call—she had been repeatedly trying to reach him. Ann had been with the company for twenty years and was the most dedicated, efficient, and organized person he knew.

“Hey, Ann, what’s up?” He put her on speaker.

“Graham, where are you? Still out there winning hearts and minds?”

“Oh yeah, nothing I enjoy more than spending a chilly January day in the fresh country air. It’s taking longer than you scheduled, but I’m confident we’ll be popping corks within the hour.”

“I know better than to bet against you,” she laughed. “Do you have time to review your schedule for the rest of the day and weekend in case you’d like any changes made?”

“Ah, Ann, what would I do without you?”

“Exactly. This afternoon you still have the meeting right after lunch in your office from two to four thirty with your senior strategic planning committee. I’ve e-mailed you the agenda; it’s a follow-up session on the data you requested on Australia and New Zealand.” He could hear her shuffling papers. “Unless the directive changes, your schedule is still clear for the New Zealand trip tomorrow. I’ve made the travel arrangements you requested and organized the rugby tickets. Didn’t realize that you were a rugby fan.”

“Well, as they say, when in Rome…”

“Right. Well, you’ve got tickets for the match. There’s also a message from Governor Jacobs from Iowa who says it’s urgent.

Damn, he needed to get the hell off this cliff top. Too much to do. “Thanks, Ann. That all sounds great. You’re truly a legend. No worries here. I’ll make the meetings and we’re all set for tomorrow. I’ll call the governor later.”

“Good. I hope the delay today isn’t serious.”

“Nope, just typical NIMBYs. Nothing to worry about. Have a good weekend with the family. The kids and grandkids are all heading your way, right?”

“They are, thanks for remembering. If you need anything, just give me call.”

He pushed the End call button on his phone and looked out of the windshield, thinking that these guys were exactly the type that fit under the heading of “Not in My Backyard”. Most people would agree that wind farms are good for the environment and economy, but press them to put one within eyesight and they screamed, “You’re ruining my view! It’s bad for the birds!” At least he’d discovered long ago what motivated people to push past those issues and embrace the benefits of wind power.

Graham noticed the men had stopped talking and were now walking across the gravel road to the bus. He stepped out of his car, walking up to meet them. The men took to the bus steps, each taking a moment to thank him for the trip and the lucrative deal that they’d wisely chosen to accept. Just before John climbed aboard, Graham grabbed his arm, slowly turning their backs away from the bus windows and growled softly in his ear.

“What the hell happened this morning, John? What was the hold up?”

John anxiously peeked back at the bus and kept his voice low. “Look, they had legitimate concerns that I couldn’t just brush aside. You know how much they wanted a local company to lease the land for a wind farm. I had to convince them that by doing the turbine deal with a global giant, they weren’t selling out but just making a good business decision. Don’t worry, they’re yours now and ready to discuss the terms. I’ve played my part of this charade for you. It’s your turn to hold up your end.”

Turning back to the bus, he released John’s arm and patted his back, making sure to smile up at faces in the windows. “Nice doing business with you, John. You can take that martyr act of yours all the way to the bank now.” He climbed the bus steps and took the bus microphone. “I’m ready to take everyone out to celebrate over lunch. The champagne is as cold as the air!”

Graham pulled through the gates of his oceanview home shortly after six. He’d bought this home, a modern mixture of concrete, metal, and glass, after the divorce. It stood in the gated, seaside community of Brighton, just south of London.

He remembered he needed to call his ex-wife and discuss their daughter’s desire to work with Eurostar. That note had been on his BlackBerry action list for about two months now. Caryn had remarried last year to one of her fellow physicians. She seemed happy the last time they spoke. Their daughter Erin was twenty now and busy with university. She had talked recently about an internship with Eurostar, which had surprised him initially. He’d always thought that she might want to follow in his footsteps. It took him less than ten seconds to say yes. At least he hadn’t screwed up that relationship—yet.

He closed the garage door, grabbed his computer bag from the back seat, and walked into the house, mentally making notes for his presentation tomorrow. Once he had a beer in hand, he made his way down the long hallway to his home office.

He enjoyed coming into this room every day after work, mainly because he’d designed it himself. For the office he’d insisted on a wall of windows with a twenty-foot ceiling so he could enjoy the view while he worked. The room was outfitted with the most advanced communication systems so he could video conference with anybody, anywhere.

While his computer warmed up, he looked out his expansive windows, staring out to where the gray skies met the ocean. He still needed to return a few phone calls. Taking a long swig, he connected to Skype and dialed the Iowa governor’s private number. He mentally did the time zone calculation, thinking it should be shortly after lunch on Saturday in Iowa. After the third ring, the governor’s face appeared.

“Hello, Governor,” he said, stretching out in his leather chair. “Did I catch you at a good time?” he asked, noting the large man’s scowl. “I hope you were calling to offer up another business opportunity.” He knew he had the governor by the balls and enjoyed giving him a squeeze to remind him of their current business arrangement.

Graham watched the governor stand and walk around his desk. There was a sound of a door closing.

When the governor reappeared, he said, “This is a far cry from a social call and we both know it. I’ll be brief. I did the business deal with you for the benefit of my state. Having your turbines lining the inner corridor of my state was a good long-term decision that I stand behind. The nature of the deal is something I now regret. Let there be no doubt about that.”

“No, Ian. You just didn’t have the foresight to estimate how fat your Cayman accounts were going to get. It’s only recently that you’ve grown a conscience. Don’t worry, it’ll pass.”

Ian Jacobs ignored him. “When you asked me to have Cal Edwards, a friend of both of ours by the way, take a little detour while in New Zealand to see his friends for a quick pro bono consulting job, it sounded fairly harmless, even knowing you as I do.” He stopped and looked behind the computer, and then continued with a hushed tone. “I was fucking stunned to hear he was
shot
out on a river bank,” he said with an icy stare. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, Graham, would you?”

Graham straightened. “Did you say Cal Edwards was shot? Is he…dead?” Graham knew that Cal was an excellent source for business referrals for Eurostar. He would be sorry if this was true, but that wasn’t what concerned him.
Somebody screwed up.

He was in the process of confirming intel he’d received about that area of New Zealand. He knew George Tetari had a stronghold on most of the South Island’s, if not the world’s, best sites for wind power. He needed to call down there tonight and find out what happened. Luckily, his plan for New Zealand was still fairly fluid. Regardless, though, he needed to take time tonight to evaluate some tactical changes. The reliability of one of his local contacts was now in question, and he’d have to deal with that personally when he arrived in New Zealand next week.

Ian growled into the phone, “No, but he’s in the hospital.”

“Look, this is the first I’ve heard of the shooting.” he shifted his gaze, admiring his beer can. “Was this the only reason you called, Ian?”

The governor stood behind his desk, jaw clenched. “Cal is a good man. He may have made the mistake of introducing us, but I don’t want you to go near him or his family. Is that understood? I still don’t know what your angle is, Graham, but believe me when I tell you that I’m watching you. Stay away from Cal and the Tetari family.”

“That sounds like a threat, Ian. Having someone shot is quite an accusation. Hunting accidents happen all the time, and since we’re talking about New Zealand where guns are restricted, that sounds exactly like what happened. As long as he wasn’t mortally wounded, then I think this conversation is ridiculous. But let’s circle back a bit.” He sat up and leaned toward the computer camera. “You can watch me all you like, but you might as well be looking in the mirror. As I recall, I made you a hero in your state sprinkling bloody turbines all over the place and making you wildly rich. Let me also remind you once again that we have a deal, and I’m confident I can count on you to uphold your end.”

“There are some things that I didn’t sign on for, and you know it,” Ian retorted.

He ignored that comment. “Oh, while I have you, let me also wish you good luck with the presidential primary. I was a bit surprised to hear that you’re considering a run, but imagine how pleased I was. I’m sure you don’t want any scandals hitting the paper, if you know what I mean. I’m going to enjoy our partnership extending into the Oval Office, Ian. You’ve got my support. See you shortly at the energy conference. I just love New Zealand in the summer.”

Graham ended the call and downed the last of his beer. Sitting in front of his computer, he concluded that politicians weren’t much of a challenge because they had too many weaknesses.

*

Governor Ian Jacobs slammed his laptop shut. He went over to his office window and scowled down at the bustling people on the capitol steps. “That bastard is mixed up in this; I can feel it,” he mumbled to himself. Why did Graham tell him to get Cal to New Zealand and to the Tetari farm in specific? Cal’s girls had already lost their mother. Now this scare. At least Saren was able to get to Ally. Saren knew the nature of his business relationship with Graham when he was too ashamed to even tell his own wife. Graham McMann had his eyes on the Tetari family. He hoped they had more resolve than he did.

Chapter 4

Iowa City, Iowa

“Dad’s been shot?” Ally repeated, trying to process this information.

Saren put her hands over Ally’s and met her gaze. “It happened less than two hours ago. He’s in stable condition. The bullet wound does not appear life-threatening, but he also sustained a head injury while he was in the river.”

She could feel the tears welling up but instinctively pushed them back down. “Where is he? Tell me exactly what happened.”
No, not again, I can’t go through this again. I can’t lose another parent, not yet
.

The black sedan pulled up in front of her house. Saren patted her hands and offered, “Why don’t we go inside, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

They peeled off their winter coats and headed for the spacious kitchen. Saren perched on a leather stool at the breakfast bar.

Ally’s head was pounding.
Coffee. We need coffee.
She programmed two cups of coffee into her Keurig and handed one to Saren. As much as she wanted the caffeine jolt, she knew her stomach was in too many knots right now.

“Thank you.” Saren took a sip and then placed her briefcase on top of the counter.

She stood across from Saren with her arms folded. “I’m not buying that Dad’s not seriously injured. Why would you travel all the way here to tell me this? Why not a phone call? Why didn’t the people in New Zealand call my sister or even me?”

“Cal didn’t have his phone on him when he was found. Perhaps it fell into the river with him. I’m sure they would have called you or your sister if they could have. Your dad had the governor’s contact information with him at the place where he was staying. When the governor received word, he felt that this news would be better delivered in person.”

“Please just tell me everything that you know.”

Saren leaned back against the kitchen chair and straightened her pants. She seemed to struggle to find the right words.

“Officials are saying it must be an unfortunate hunting accident. It appears a hunter took a shot without realizing there were others in the area,” Saren began. “Yes, your dad was fishing with his friend, George Tetari, on his farm when the accident occurred. George took swift action and called in a helicopter. Your dad was flown to the hospital immediately. He was unconscious when he arrived, and that’s the last report I have.”

Ally felt the pounding in her head lessening and took a deep breath. “How serious is the head injury?”

“We honestly don’t know yet.” Saren’s professional mask slipped, and she seemed genuinely worried.