Chapter 19
Crash
I stood in a large meeting room. There were several men sat around the table, each with files and folders and pads and pens in front of them. At the head of the table sat Walter Lithgow, his manner entirely professional and businesses-like.
Not like the last time I'd seen him.
He'd called me early the next morning to tell me that he'd concede; admit defeat; convince the other investors to accept his change in direction. He'd made that phone call two days ago. Now it was his chance to prove to me, in person, that he'd truly live up to his word.
My mind was set in a single direction now. My tunnel vision was all consuming. Make the deal, get all the necessary paperwork for my new project signed off, and then deal with Lithgow in whatever manner I saw fit.
He thought he'd given me all I wanted. The spineless old f*ck would soon realize that that wasn't the case at all.
I wanted his life as well.
“Right gentlemen, shall we begin.” His words rung out, loud and proud, across the room, bringing to a close conversations and the scribbling of fountain pens.
Everyone turned to him and waited in silence. They were yet to know exactly why they had been gathered together so promptly, and exactly why I was there.
“You all remember Mr Logan here. He delivered a wonderful proposal for a casino which we all thought had fantastic long term potential.”
There was a muttering of agreement as people turned towards me and back to Lithgow.
“Now, as you know, we decided in the end to favor another project. I have called this urgent meeting to discuss the option of reverting to Mr Logan's proposal.”
I sat in silence, smiling politely as people turned to me. I didn't have to play any part in this. No longer was it my job to convince these men of my worth. No, I'd passed the baton to Lithgow now.
A man stood up. I remembered him as Bruce Cromwell, a man who hadn't been so keen on my proposal from the start. He'd questioned me extensively on it, eventually saying that it was too high risk.
“Walter, didn't we agree that Mr Logan's project was a little, I don't know, risky. This real estate venture will secure us a very high return on our investment, and fast. And a casino? Is that not a little immoral? Call me oldfashioned, but I don't like to invest in vice and addiction.”
He glanced over at me as he sat back down. The stupid naive f*ck. What he called vice and addiction, I called entertainment. He was living in the f*cking Dark Ages.
“Obviously Bruce, I understand that this is a bit of a turnaround on my part. However, after extensive thought I have seen the long term potential in such a venture.”
He looked directly at me, holding his hand out in my direction.
“I have also come to see that Mr Logan here is an investment in himself. He has a great deal of ambition, and that will see our bank accounts swell in years to come. We won't stop at one casino. We're going to turn the entire plot into a Las Vegas of the North, a mecca for gaming, entertainment, and wonderful dining in this humble part of the country.”
Fine speech. The old shit was playing his hand well.
A sensed a stirring in the room. Wealthy men such as these were always seduced by the promise of greater gains. I'd told Lithgow of my ambition to build an empire, not just a casino. These men would benefit from my graft overthe years, but not him.
“But this doesn't change the moral ambiguity of all of this,” said Cromwell. “I don't know how comfortable I am investing in such an enterprise.”
I was having trouble keeping my mouth shut at the end of the table. I'd done my best to explain the virtues of casinos to him when I made my initial pitch. Perhaps now would be the time to school him again.
No, I'd let Lithgow do the work. His tongue carried far more power and influence than mine.
“Bruce, you have to accept that we are in business to make money. We're not talking about anything too seedy here, no one is going to be exploited. We are simply tapping into a market that is woefully underdeveloped in this part of the country.”
“I find that quite contrary to be honest Walter. Have you not built your reputation on family virtues and honest, sustainable businesses. We talked about this before. How can you now change your mind and opt for such an unethical enterprise?”
The words hung around the room as Lithgow's eyes moved from man to man, refusing to meet my own.
“That's true, but I have changed my position on this regardless. I don't look upon Mr Logan's project as being unethical. He has convinced me of its worth in our society. If you are unwilling to invest, that is your right. But this is the decision I've come to.”
There was silence in the room as all eyes fell to Bruce Cromwell. I saw his mind work things over, the cogs turning and turning to come to a conclusion.
“Think it over Bruce,” Lithgow said finally. “Give me your decision tomorrow.”
He turned to the rest, standing up and leaning on the desk. “I assume the rest of you are with me?”
There was a murmuring around the room, no words of disagreement.
“Excellent. Now let us move forward with this quickly. The floor is yours, Mr Logan. Please run us through the first phase of your plan.”
He sat back down as the group of investors turned towards me.
The floor was mine. The way I'd always wanted it.
....
The cork popped loudly and bounced off the ceiling.
“F*cking hell yeah gentlemen, we are off and running!”
I filled three glasses and passed them to Kyle and Jones. I raised my own to the heavens.
“To Jones, for all his wonderful work!” I smiled as he bowed his head at my compliment and took a sip of his champagne.
“Anything I can do to help build the legacy of the Logan family,” he said.
“So what's the next step,” asked Kyle.
I hadn't really involved him in things as of yet. Frankly, he didn't need to be included. But now...now there was something I really wanted him involved in. Something that would prove his loyalty to this family, to my father,to our future.
“The next step, brother, is to right a wrong.”
He looked at me curiously. “What wrong?”
“The death of our father.” I said it with malice, a glint in my eye, a lust for revenge.
His eyes were different though. They widened as I looked at him, as I spoke of our father. He took a small step back, looking suddenly alarmed.
“What do you mean?” His words shook, lacking their usual calm.
“Lithgow.” I said. “I didn't tell you before because we still needed him to secure us the investment. But now, now there's nothing that will protect him.”
Kyle's eyes morphed from worry to confusion. He clearly had no idea what I was talking about.
“It was Lithgow, Kyle. Lithgow ordered the hit on dad.”
He looked slightly shocked, taken aback by my reveal. I mean, I could understand that. He probably wanted to know just as much as me. He probably wanted revenge as I did.
“But how, why?”
“Apparently Lithgow and dad were old business rivals. Do you remember the murder of a guy called Michael Cooper about a month before dad was killed?”
He nodded, his eyes deep.
“Well, Cooper was also a business associate of father's. They screwed him - Cooper and Lithgow - and dad was getting revenge. He was the one who ordered Cooper killed...”
“How do you know that?” His words were rushed, cutting me off.
“Oh, that was Jones' doing again. He tracked this old stripper down - Jen - who admitted to doing it for him. I guess she must have worked for you down at the strip bar?”
He looked like a thousand memories were just rushing back towards him. “I remember Jen,” he said solemnly.
“Well, anyway, it turns out father ordered the hit on Cooper and was about to do the same to Lithgow until he took out dad first. Now that snake's gonna get what he deserves.”
A voice came from behind, Jones joining the conversation.
“Well, let's not forget, Crash, that we are speculating slightly.”
“What do you mean?” I said. He hadn't spoken of any doubts before.
“Well, I never found any direct evidence that Walter Lithgow killed your father. Nothing links anyone to your father's death. But, I do believe that Lithgow was to blame.”
I smiled. “That's good enough for me. I trust your judgement. And, in any case, he deserves it for what he did to dad years ago, for pulling the plug on that deal. The guy's a snake in the grass, and needs his head taken off.”
I took a swig of champagne from the bottle, my glass now empty. I had an insatiable lust inside me to see someone sent to the grave for my father's death. Lithgow ticked all of the boxes. It was him, I had no doubt about it.
“So you're really going to kill a man without any evidence?” It was Kyle. “I don't know Crash. Dad killed Cooper, Lithgow kills dad. Where does it stop?”
“You're saying we should let him get away with it?”
“No, no, I'm not saying that. It's just, I don't know. If you kill him, then who's to say someone won't come and take you out. It's an endless chain.”
I shook my head. “No, it's not endless. It ends with Lithgow.”
I could see Kyle's head dropping, his eyes deep with some sort of guilt or sorrow or something. He looked like he didn't want to be involved.
That's exactly why he had to be.