Page 78 of Deadly Revenge

“How did he die?” she asked.

“He had a stroke ’cause he got so upset at the price the government first offered him for his land. His blood pressure got so high it popped a blood vessel in his head. At least that’s what the doctors said—the blood pressure part, anyway.”

“Anything else?” Max asked.

Junior ran his finger up and down his glass, making lines in the condensation.

Todd cleared his throat. “It wasn’t long after the dam and reservoir project got off the ground that Slater bought his first Cadillac, and he didn’t borrow money from the bank to pay for it, at least not from my bank. That was also about the time Paul Nelson started wearing those expensive clothes of his.”

Junior laughed. “Don’t know if either has anything to do with the dam project, but the timing of Slater’s Caddy and Paul’s fancy duds always struck me as peculiar, but maybe it was one of those serendipity things.”

Max jotted a note on his pad and looked up. “How many families owned land where the dam and reservoir are now?”

“I’d have to stop and think. A whole bunch of folks sold their property to some company before we even knew there was a dam in the works.” Junior nodded to Todd. “You’d know more about that.”

Todd nodded. “At the time, I thought it was strange that a company would come in here and buy up a bunch of land, buthunt clubs had made a comeback, and that’s what the farmers who sold believed the company planned to use the land for.”

“Do you know the name of the company?”

Junior shook his head. “If I knew it, I’ve forgotten it.”

“Something to do with the earth ...” Todd shook his head. “Just don’t remember.”

Max nodded. “How about the others? How many families held out?”

“About ten or eleven families sued or fought the dam to the end.”

“Could you give me their names?” Max held his pen poised, ready to write.

Junior and Todd rattled off seven names, half that Jenna was familiar with.

“I don’t remember any of the others.” Junior turned to Jenna. “My daddy sold out after your grandfather died, and there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t regret not fighting that dam to his dying day. It ain’t served one useful purpose other than a place for people to have fun on the water.”

Ethel approached with Jenna’s and Max’s meals, and Junior checked his watch and stood. “I have cars waiting to be worked on.”

Todd stood as well. But they didn’t leave until Ethel walked away. Once she was out of earshot, Junior said, “I don’t know what caused Slater’s car to go off the road, but you might want to check out your granddaddy’s accident.”

40

“Didn’t you and your dad have a row with the city about building a garage?” Max asked before Junior could walk away. He’d been waiting for an opportunity to ask Junior about Carter’s remarks.

“We didn’t have a squabble with them—it was the other way around. Dad just told ’em he didn’t care what they passed, he was building a garage on the empty lot beside his store. They’re the ones who made a big deal out of it, but the garage got built. And nobody made us tear it down.”

“He’s right,” Todd said. “The mayor and city council are the ones who made a fuss.”

That wasn’t the way Max heard it, and he personally couldn’t understand why the city would have a problem—the garage was bound to bring in tax money, and anytime there was a way to keep a hometown boy at home, it was a good thing. Unless it was a power play, and he could see Carter doing something like that. He stood and extended his hand. “Thanks for talking to us.”

The three men shook hands and Junior and Todd walked back to their table while Max sat down and put away his notepad and pen. He’d thought about using his tablet to make notes, but considering his “big city ways” might irritate Junior, he optedfor old school. He turned to Jenna. “I’d say first on our agenda for this afternoon is to find your grandfather’s accident report.”

She opened her phone. “I’ll text Alex. She’ll know where to look.”

After Max blessed their meal, they dug into the food. After a few bites, he said, “I don’t usually like meat loaf, but this is great.”

“Pete claims it’s his mama’s recipe.”

“Well, I’d like to have it.”

She chuckled. “What? To give to your mama?”

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