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Sandy had once been part of Lucas’s BCA team. She was a computer hacker/savant and had once had a hasty affair with Virgil, in which Lucas’s desktop had been involved. They’d immediately fallen out, and later yet had become friends without privileges.
“Call her up, give her Byrne, Drukker, and Burston. See if they hook up. She loves that shit, working out connections.”
Virgil: “When you’re right, you’re right.”
He called, but she didn’t pick up; he left a message.
“Now for some lunch,” Virgil said.
As he said that, they were passing a hog farm, with the associated stink, the most penetrating of barnyard odors. Lucas said, “Jesus. That’ll take your appetite away.”
“Think how bad it is for the pigs, they’re right in it,” Virgil said.
“I doubt that they have much reaction to it,” Lucas said. “They’re swine.”
“Yes, but they’re among the most sensitive of animals. They’resmarter than dogs. They’re even-toed ungulates, which means they bear their weight on two of their five toes. Two is an even number, that’s why they’re called even-toed, because ‘two’ is an even number. The whale family, including dolphins and porpoises, actually evolved from even-toed ungulates—”
“Shut up,” Lucas said.
“I was thinking I might have a BLT, but now I’m thinking veggie burger,” Virgil said.
—
They stopped ata grill off I-94 in Maple Grove, on the northwest corner of the Minneapolis metro area, and both stayed away from bacon, going with salmon (Lucas) and rotisserie chicken (Virgil). Halfway through lunch, Donald Brooks, the U.S. Bank loan officer, called back, and opened with, “Talullah said you’ll keep me out of this.”
“Absolutely,” Lucas said. He and Virgil hovered over the phone, the volume turned down.
“Hypothetically, if somebody could get the permits, they could put maybe... I don’t know exactly, but I’d say a hundred units in there. Medium-quality condos, most likely, retirement boxes, maybe throwing in a half-dozen low-income units to make the city council look good. It’s not a high-end location, but it’s got good access to downtown, if somebody would build the roads and a walkway and bicycle path.”
“That’s interesting. Any idea of the profit potential?”
“With the guys Talullah mentioned... they both have in-house designers and access to financing. The condo market is tricky, but atthe hundred-unit point, all in, they might make two million after costs. Of course, they’d still take an income tax hit.”
“A lot of money,” Virgil said.
“A lot of risk,” Brooks said. “Condo development is a good way to lose your shirt.”
“But you know these guys. They’re experienced, and they know what they’re doing, right?”
“Yes, they do,” Brooks said.
“And two million is two million,” Lucas said.
“Yes, it is.”
Brooks filled in a few more details of the condo-financing business, and again emphasized that he didn’t want to be connected to the discussion. “We’re already forgetting about it,” Virgil told him.
—
Off the phone,Lucas said, “Two million. Can you say, ‘motive’?”
“Definitely pay for a professional, if you could find one,” Virgil said.
“Don’t think a pro would hit the kids, and might be a little reluctant to hit a federal judge,” Lucas said. “Besides, the shooting was sloppy. Took eight shots. A pro would have taken three.”
“Sure, if it was one of those mythical movie professionals,” Virgil said. “If it was a dipshit with a gun who was willing to kill people... he might be a little sloppy.”
“Good point,” Lucas said.
