Page 45 of The List

He crept into the bathroom, splashed water on his face, and tried to compose himself. The pain in his abdomen was steadily increasing. He needed to get back to the negotiations and it was important he appear calm.

Later, he’d complete the final step in his plan.

1:50 P.M.

L EE CLIMBED INTO A GOLF CART AND DROVE TOWARD THE NORTHEAST corner of Hickory Row. The county line divided the property nearly in half, a series of guesthouses lying within walking distance of the Savannah River and the largest of the three quail hunting fields.

A paved road appropriately dubbed Shade Tree Lane wound north through the hickory trees.

The sweltering afternoon air draped things like warm syrup.

A mixture of grass and matted straw littered with oversized pinecones formed a front yard for one of the smaller guesthouses.

Squirrels scurried for cover as the cart’s electric whine announced his presence.

He parked behind the white pickup truck already there and knocked on the front door.

De Florio answered.

He stepped inside to the air-conditioned interior and they sat.

“Mr. Hughes and I have decided Bozin must be processed immediately. He apparently intends to see all of us, including you, in jail.”

“Are there any conditions?”

“Chris has terminal prostate cancer. Make it consistent with that.”

De Florio nodded.

“Bozin will most likely be expecting you. Let’s not disappoint him. Proceed immediately. But not until tonight. That’ll give Mr. Hughes and myself time to get back to Atlanta. And after the discovery of his death, I want the body immediately cremated. It was his wish. Chris told me so many times.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

He loved how De Florio questioned little and merely performed.

“I knew you would.”

4:40 P.M.

“ I WANT TO KNOW,” brENT ASKED AGAIN. “IS LORI ANNE MY DAUGHTER? ”

His voice had risen with each of Ashley’s denials.

“No. And don’t flatter yourself.”

“I’m not. But I want to know the truth.”

“When she was conceived I had a husband.”

“She was born eight months after the two of you married.”

“I know you’re familiar with premarital sex.”

“Which you and I engaged in, about the same time.”

“Brent, Lori Anne is Manley’s daughter.”

“I believed you,” Brent said, recalling the conversation of ten years earlier.

“It’s the only time I ever lied to you,” Ashley said.

Her face was wound tight, eyes watery.

“I planned to tell you, but when you told me you were going to marry Paula, I thought it better to let it go. There seemed no need for you to ever know.”

“You should have told me.”

“And what would you have done? Dumped her and married me? She told you she was pregnant. Remember? It’s why you married her.”

“I would have married you.”

“So you would have chosen the daughter already born, over the child on the way? Get real, Brent. You don’t have a clue what you would have done.”

“How did it even happen? I thought you were careful.”

“The pill’s not one hundred percent.”

“Was there ever any question who was the father?”

She shook her head. “When Lori Anne was conceived, you were the only man I was with. Sure, Manley and I slept together. But not during the time she was conceived. And I want you to know, I didn’t then and haven’t since jumped from bed to bed.

There have only been four men in my life.

Three husbands, but God knows I wasn’t much of a wife in that department, and you. Nobody else.”

“Does Manley know?”

“Not for a fact. But he suspects. To his credit he’s never said one word and has been good to Lori Anne. He’s the only father she’s ever known.”

“How will she react to this?”

“That’s a good question. And another reason why I kept it to myself.”

“So why the truth now?”

“We can’t build something on lies. And your mother came to see me.”

That shocked him.

“She told me about her illness. She deserves quality time with her granddaughter. We can’t keep making the same mistakes over and over. People are being hurt by our foolishness.”

She was right. Together, they’d really screwed things up.

“I’m so sorry, Brent. For everything.”

“I think I should be the one apologizing. We both wasted a lot of years.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

He knew what she meant.

“We have Lori Anne.”

He left half an hour later and drove home.

He should be mad over the years he’d been deprived of a daughter.

But he’d been angry long enough. And he was a father.

Incredible. Maybe he and Ashley could finally start building something good.

He’d been apprehensive about coming back to Concord, thinking the physical distance enough to keep the past at bay.

Now he was glad he’d made the move. He’d never wanted Paula to die.

She made that choice. And perhaps that had been her intent.

To wreak guilt upon him so deep that he could never be happy.

Hard to say. But there was no denying that had been his life these past years.

No more.

Time to start over.

He turned onto Live Oak and slowed at his parents’ drive. Nestled next to the curb was a white Hickory Row vehicle. He parked and quickly headed inside. His mother met him at the front door.

“There’s someone here to see you.”

He glanced to his right and saw Christopher Bozin sitting comfortably in the front parlor.

His boss stood. “I should have called first, but I really needed to see you before I went back to my house for the night.”

“I’m sorry you had to wait.”

Bozin waived off his apology. “Your mother and I have had a wonderful chat.”

“I’ll leave you two to talk,” his mother said. “It was so nice to finally meet you.”

Bozin acknowledged her with a nod and a smile.

They sat. He noticed that Bozin wore the same suit and tie from earlier at the negotiations.

“This is a lovely home.”

“My parents bought it when I was a little boy and fixed it up through the years.”

Bozin gestured to one of the pictures angling from atop the table next to him. “Is that your father?” A tarnished Victorian frame surrounded a man and woman, both middle-aged.

He nodded.

“Were you and he close?”

“I was an only child, so there was no way we wouldn’t be.”

“He seems to have provided for you and your mother.”

“He did. But some of that credit goes to Southern Republic. The mill made sure we had the benefits needed, not to mention a good wage.”

Bozin nodded. “We talked about that the other night. You really think we did some good here in Concord?”

“Without a doubt.”

Bozin paused for a moment, seemingly catching his breath. Then said, “I’m sure you’re wondering why one of the owners of the company stopped by unannounced?”

“That thought has crossed my mind.”

“First, tell me what happened at the negotiations. I wasn’t able to get back that way.”

“IAM and IBEW argued all afternoon. One of the members on Reed’s negotiations committee turned on him, in open revolt, on any five-year deal. There were some harsh words said at the table.”

Bozin chuckled. “I bet Hank was beside himself. That is the one thing he tries to avoid. Never let the other side see conflict. Too good an opportunity for us to divide and conquer.”

“He’s called an IBEW membership meeting for tonight. He assured me that by morning all opposition would be quashed.”

The older man smiled. “And I have no doubt that it will be.”

He wanted to know, “What is it I can do for you?”

“I have something I want you to keep for me.” Bozin reached beside him for a brown envelope. “It’s important that I know someone from the company has this information. I’d like for you to store it somewhere safe. If I become incapacitated, or die, please do exactly as it asks.”

What was going on? At the DA’s office months went by before he even spoke with his boss.

Here, already there’d been private talks, a dinner at Hickory Row, and now one of the owners was sitting in his living room asking a personal favor.

He was green to the paper industry, little more than a stranger to Bozin. Yet the man wanted to connect.

Why?

And he was still disturbed by the list of Social Security numbers and the deaths associated with each one.

He wanted to make some official inquiries with management.

But Hank had asked him to keep it to himself until the negotiations ended.

There’d be serious questions raised as to how it was obtained, ones Hank did not want to deal with until the contracts were signed and sealed.

He suspected Hank was also looking out for the source who’d done the actual snooping in the system.

There would surely be repercussions. He debated bringing up the subject here and now, but decided to respect Hank’s wishes and simply asked, “Don’t you have a personal lawyer who should handle this? ”

“Several, in fact. But they’re in Atlanta and you’re here in Concord. Besides, this is company-related.”

“What about the general counsel? Shouldn’t he be the one to hold on to this?”

“I prefer you do it. Consider it a specific request employer-to-employee, if you will.”

Now he was pulling rank. “Mr. Bozin, I have reservations. I mean my boss could take this the wrong way. Concord’s a small town.

News travels fast. Hell, there’s a company car sitting in front of my house.

I certainly don’t want anyone thinking I’m less than a month on the job and already after my boss’ position. ”

“I assure you, no one will have knowledge of what we’re doing. This is solely between you and me.”

He was still hesitant and Bozin appeared to sense his reservations.

“I realize I could have asked the general counsel to handle this. But the fact that you are less than a month on the job is why I’m asking you.

I understand you’re new to the company and the industry.

I, on the other hand, am not. So I ask you to trust me, as employer to employee, and do this favor for me. ”

“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“What do you think?”

Bozin handed him the envelope and smiled.