Chapter 15
Gary walked into TBC that evening with Phil Tyler, a corporate CEO, at his side. As governor, he shouldn’t be able to afford the steep annual membership as well as the monthly dues and the private plane ride to get here, but he had several investments and side businesses, plus a lucrative way of parsing out state contracts to various, grateful vendors.
If the voters ever found out that he was a member of an exclusive billionaires club that had only recently allowed women as members, the press would ruin him! That’s why Gary always walked into this building next to someone else, just in case a photographer was hiding in the trees. Gary figured that he could always claim that he was just a guest of the club and not a member.
However, Gary didn’t give a damn about perception once he was inside this exclusive club. Here he had confidence that everyone’s privacy was sacrosanct. The other members never spoke about his visits and he’d keep all of their tidbits of information that he discovered within these walls a secret as well. Until it became necessary to use those secrets to his advantage, that is.
The annual membership fees were an investment that had already paid off ten-fold in stock tips and opportunities to invest in up and coming businesses. He wasn’t a “billionaire” per se, but he was getting pretty damn close. Of course, his voters would never know the real size of his net worth since most of his business interests were owned by various shell companies.
Tonight, Gary was busy networking, reviving friendships and shaking hands. He loved this glad-handing thing, chuckling over corny jokes and cozying up to anyone who might be interested in sponsoring his upcoming campaign. For each proposed campaign donation, Gary was quick to mention a state contract that might benefit the person’s company. It was a tit-for-tat thing and Gary knew how to play the game exceptionally well.
“Where’s Ann?” Gary asked, leaning against the bar as Mark, the usual bartender, poured him two fingers of his favorite scotch. Phil was talking with another guy, but Gary knew that the CEO was listening in to the conversation with Mark.
Mark measured out the exact amount while saying, “You haven’t heard the news?”
Gary shook his head, watching Phil out of the corner of his eye, just in case someone more important arrived. “What news?”
Mark put the bottle of scotch back in its place and clicked the button to secure it and Gary almost rolled his eyes. Levi, one of the club owners, had learned early on that the wealthy stole as much as they could, even when they could easily afford whatever they wanted. Too often, a club member had been ejected from the club for stealing liquor. A glass of the Glenlivet scotch was about fifty dollars. More than fifteen members had been ejected from the club for trying to steal a portion. They quickly learned that there were cameras all over the club.
“You haven’t heard?”
Phil turned, looking at the bartender. “Ann’s not here tonight?
Gary suspected that the bartender was messing with Phil, who Gary knew was an easy mark. The guy might run his own company, but he was an idiot about some issues, like gossip.
Phil sighed heavily and gestured towards Gary. “I’ve been busy negotiating a multi-million dollar deal for a new pipeline that will transfer crude oil from the Alaskan oil fields to the shipping containers on the coastline,” he grumbled, obviously hoping to humble the less wealthy bartender. “I haven’t had time to stare at the television in hopes that some important piece of information might be imparted.”
Mark chuckled and nodded. “Fair enough. Someone tried to kill Ann two nights ago.”
Gary noticed the word “try”. He shifted on his feet, leaning more heavily against the bar. “Wasn’t Ann they were aiming for,” Gary announced. “The target was my sister.” He looked at Mark and jerked his chin towards Phil’s drink. “I’ll have the same.”
“How do you know that Cindy was the target?” Phil asked, narrowing his eyes on Gary.
“Who would want to hurt a waitress?” Gary scoffed. “My sister is working on some big story, probably an expose on whatever mess is happening down in Todras.”
At the mention of that small town scandal in the neighboring state, several of the other club members drifted over with questions about the investigation. Gary preened, enjoying the fact that these guys knew he was the governor of Kentucky.
Phil stood off to the side, watching the show. He understood the game the governor was playing. But Gary shook his head at everyone’s questions about the ongoing investigation, implying that the prick had important information that he “simply wasn’t allowed to impart”. Phil knew that the words were a ploy to get each of the club members to ante up for Gary’s campaign, or even outright bribes to obtain more information. Phil himself wouldn’t mind knowing where Ethan Howell’s stash of blackmail videos was hidden. In fact, Phil looked around at the others who were asking questions and noticed several other frantic expressions. How many of these men were under Howell’s thumb?
The possibilities were intriguing and made his mission that much more imperative.