Chapter Six: Lassiter

Tuesday June 21, 1910

Sarah sat for a few minutes in the tiny office; lost in her own thoughts. She thought, "Did I just tell her to go back to the party or did I tell to avoid it?" She covered her face with her hands. "Why am I such a bird brain?"

"Off the phone?" It was the same man's voice.

"Yes, sir."

A tall, distinguished looking gentleman with reddish brown hair and a beard stepped into the office.

"Hello Sarah. My name is Ross Watson, I am Jake's father. He told me you walked into his room."

"Sir, it was an accident."

He pantomimed for her to calm down. "I understand that, but you need to know the whole story. Aren't you the least bit curious about the drawings?"

"Well, yes. But I could always ask my father what it all means."

"Oh no you cannot!"

"I don't understand."

"Sarah, listen to me. Lynn and Jake are in the room upstairs, we'll join them. We need to discuss this situation."

Sarah was beginning to get nervous.

"Please, Sarah, you are not in any kind of trouble. I won't harm you. I'm a respectable man. I need you to join me and Lynn and Jake in the room. Ok?"

Sarah nodded. They went upstairs to Jake's room.

"Hello Sarah," Lynn said with a smile.

"Hi," Jake said.

Both of them were seated in chairs. A chair in the middle was for Sarah. She sat down and straightened her dress.

Mr. Watson joined them a few seconds later carrying a chair and a briefcase. He placed the chair in front of the trio. He sat down.

"Sarah Conrad, you are sixteen-years-old. Your birthday is April 16, 1894. You live a half mile east of downtown in a magnificent two story log cabin with a hunter green roof. Your mother's name is Paula. Your father Michael is president of the local branch of Montana Chemical Bank."

Sarah was bewildered. "How do you know all of that? Do you know my parents?"

He shook his head and opened up his briefcase. He pulled out an envelope with the words: "Top Secret." He undid a string which bound the envelope and opened it. He gave Sarah a sheet of paper which had her picture and all of her information. Next he handed one with pictures of her house, the bank, Clementine's bakery and the church. Next he handed information sheets on her mother and father.

Sarah was very confused.

"Sarah, I am not a spy. It's just that in my business we must know everything about the competition."

Ross stuck out his hand. She reluctantly shook his hand.

"Jake was never supposed to talk to you, he's just a boy. I cannot fully trust him."

Sarah was defensive. "Why?"

"Patience, Sarah. Jake is not supposed to talk to you, ever, because he is my son, he knows the real reason why we moved, in a clandestine fashion, to this little town in the middle of nowhere."

Ross sighed and looked out the window for a second. He returned his focus.

"I'm a legitimate businessman, I assure you. I am not smuggling gold or working for some foreign government. I'm a developer. My company, Martin, Savage and Watson, builds communities, towns, sometimes entire cities. Do you like River City?"

Sarah beamed. "Sure. I love going there. It's so much fun. There are all kinds of things to do: there's the roller rink, the music hall, and lots of shopping."

Ross smiled. "I'm glad you like it. My company built it twenty years ago."

Sarah tilted her head. "Really? Wow!"

"Communities can grow, naturally, or they can be built. One hundred years ago there was no town of Eagle Creek. There was just a lone settler, mining for silver and not having much luck. He should have moved on down the line. Well, in time, that man got married and had six children. Those children grew up and had families of their own. They built houses and a trading post. Soon friends moved in and relatives and sometimes total strangers who could make a profit by offering a service like blacksmithing or tanning. They had a nice little community. Years went by and then the United States Post Office said, 'Congratulations, Eagle Creek is officially a town.'

That is the way it usually happens. The time goes by; houses and businesses go up and, presto!, the town becomes a city."

Sarah said, "Ok, so?"

"Soooo. Sometimes it does not happen that way. Sometimes a company, like mine, finds an area where the land is good and we create a city of our own. We build houses, pave streets, plant trees, erect courthouses, charter schools, make room for churches, parks, utilities everything humans want and need in a city. Last year a group of surveyors came to Eagle Creek. They looked at your beautiful town and they liked it."

Sarah was worried, "You want to destroy Eagle Creek?"

"No, far from it, believe me. I'd never do anything to harm Crummy Creek." He winked.

Sarah gasped. "How'd you know about our secret name for the town?"

"My people are good; we try to find out everything about an area before we build."

He reached in his briefcase and took out a pointer, extended it and pointed to the pastoral picture on the wall Jake had drawn of the view from Darling Knob.

"It's a pretty scene. On one side of the knob is Eagle Creek and some cattle ranches. On the other side, well, there are few cattle and the farms are pitiful. Would you say that is a fair assessment of the agriculture in this valley?"

He put down the pointer. Sarah nodded.

He playfully aped her reaction. "Sarah, relax, please. Lynn, can you hop downstairs and bring us some cookies?"

"Ok, Uncle Ross."

Lynn walked out the door.

"Sarah, the land is poor. The people are poor. My company wants to buy this land and build a new city."

"What about the people already there?"

"They are being compensated. Individual members of my company, as well as some outside associates, are going to each family and offering a very generous allotment of money for their property. Now then, here is where you come in. Montana Chemical Bank is our competitor, they cannot know about this project until we have acquired 85% of the land.

In Eagle Creek, no one outside of this house was supposed to know about Lassiter. When I decided to oversee this project and move in with my brother, George, Lynn's father, I was confident that no one outside of Jake and I would know about it. You and, my niece, Lynn, were rivals who barely spoke to one another. An old man and a little kid moving in to her house would hardly be news worthy. I would keep to myself, never going into town unless it was critical to do so. To ensure confidence, I even gave Lynn a reasonable monetary reward for her silence; a bank account which she can access upon her eighteenth birthday. Once again, what I am doing is perfectly legal.

Clearly, I had no way of knowing that you and Lynn would become friends. Just in case something might change, I had Jake review the files I just showed you. I drove him by your house, your school, your church, I said, 'If you meet anyone named Sarah or Michael or Paula Conrad, do not, repeat, do not speak to them.' And he agreed with me.

We shook hands. But, then he saw you and, well, you are an attractive sixteen-year-old lady, Jake is a thirteen-year-old boy. As you can imagine, he definitely wanted to talk to you."

Jake was embarrassed. "Dad?"

Sarah was blushing.

"Jake, don't be embarrassed, she's a pretty girl. I'd want to talk to her if I were thirteen."

Sarah smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"Now then, we have a dilemma. Today, you walked into Jake's room. You wanted to know what he was doing while you slept. Well, what he did was he drew your picture as you reclined on the couch."

Sarah's cringed.

Ross held up his hand. "Clothed."

She relaxed.

"Son, show Sarah here your splendid work."

Jake took out his portfolio. He had drawn Sarah on a rock surrounded by falling stars.

Sarah was touched. "It's so beautiful Jake. Why'd you runaway?"

Jake looked down. "I didn't know if you'd like it, plus, I didn't ask your permission."

Sarah shrugged. "It was a bit jarring to awaken and find you staring at me."

Jake was contrite. "I'm sorry, Sarah."

Sarah tapped his shoulder. "It won't happen again?"

"Never."

Sarah winked at him. "Fine. Can I keep it?"

"Really?"

Sarah nodded.

Jake instinctively reached for a hug but backed off. "Thank you."

Sarah laughed.

Russ chuckled, "Now that's all settled, let's talk about Lassiter. Sarah when you opened the door to his room you saw more than the scribblings of a little boy. Jake draws the things he sees. He has seen every detail of my plan for the land, architect's renderings, even the marquee for the town of Lassiter, so, per my instruction, he drew it."

"Jake's a good kid. He didn't do anything wrong."

"I never said that he did anything wrong or you did anything wrong for that matter. This was an accident. However, actions, even unintended ones, have consequences. I could not allow you to leave today wondering to yourself what the word 'Lassiter' meant and why there was a city just beyond Darling Knob. You would have asked your father, Michael Conrad, my competitor, and told him what you saw."

"I wouldn't have done that."

"Why not? Did you know about this project? All you knew is a thirteen-year-old boy, who is talented and, well, attracted to you."

"Dad?" Jake whined.

Sarah laughed. "I know what you mean, Mr. Watson. Jake, it's no big deal."

He was still mortified.

Ross continued, "All you knew was, this thirteen-year-old had a drawing that didn't make sense. You would have asked your father what it meant. He would send a telegram to the bank headquarters in Helena. Their private investigators would do some footwork and, eventually, they would've discovered the Lassiter project."

"What does that matter? Soon everyone will know about it."

"Right now, only a few people know about Lassiter. If the farmers in that valley knew, the price of their land would go from $15 an acre to $150 an acre over night. Let me give you a little lesson in economics: Sarah, you're wearing a cameo. If I offer you $10 for the cameo would you sell it?"

Sarah thought and then shook her head. "No. No, I wouldn't sell it. The cameo has special meaning."

"Right, you want to hang on to it. That is your prerogative. The cameo is your property. What if I offered $100?"

"Wow!"

"Wow is right! You'd take the $100 and be on your way, however, a shrewd businesswoman would ask, 'If Ross Watson can afford $100, then would he not be willing to offer $100 more?'"

"$200? That's crazy, but, here, sold." She tried to remove it.

"No, no, no, no. I don't want your cameo. I have no use for it so I wouldn't give you a plug nickel."

Sarah considered the meaning of the illustration. "In a way, that wouldn't be fair of me to sell you something for $200 that you can buy at a store for $10."

Ross rubbed his beard. "Well, it's an issue of business ethics. Today is your first lesson. The Ten Commandments, all those 'Thou shalt not' codes for our lives, are good. Our society lives and thrives by their influence. However, because we are human, right and wrong are not always clear options."

Sarah hesitated. "Like dating, sometimes I don't know what to do."

Ross laughed. "Oh, I was a man on the make many years ago. I am sure I gave the young ladies of Madison, South Dakota my fair share of heartaches."

He took a bite of a cookie. "Moving on to the issue at hand, this is a serious matter. My dear Sarah, no one, absolutely no one, not Emily, not your mother, not your father, not the Preacher nor his wife, not your piano teacher, not Nurse Westbrook can know about Lassiter."

"Sir, I promise I won't tell a soul."

"Sarah, I'd like to believe you. As Jake's father, as Lynn's uncle, as, well, as your acquaintance, I believe you. You seem to be a fine, Christian young lady who would do her best to keep her word. However, we're all subject to temptation.

If Emily's father told you, 'I have twenty acres of land past Darling Knob that's worth $10 an acre and some crazy coot wants to buy it,' what would you say?"

"I don't know. Mr. Clementine is my friend. I wouldn't want to see him lose money when he could be making it."

Ross interrupted her, "That's why I can't take the risk. We're all subject to temptation, even when the temptation involves information whose revelation might benefit someone especially a close friend or member of the family."

Sarah sighed. "I think I see your point."

"Sarah, do you like to gossip?"

"Oh, no, sir, I never gossip."

He tilted his head. "Sarah, do you like to gossip?"

Sarah swished her mouth. "Well," she sighed. "If it's a good story, I might tell Emily, but that's about it, unless someone else asks me to confirm what they heard, which in that case," Sarah collapsed her shoulders. "Yes. I like to gossip."

At this point she felt as though she were on trial.

"But isn't gossip a sin?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yes, gossip is a sin, what's your point, sir?"

"My dear, we all have our failings. I'm not picking on you; I'm only singling you out because I must give you this warning. Sarah, please listen carefully. I think you are a fine young lady. However, you are sixteen and at your age you have certain rules for your life which you try to live up to, most of which are helpful, but under certain circumstances you make them null and void. Please, I'm not making any disparaging presumptions about your character; I am merely stating the facts as I perceive them. I cannot fully trust you. This has nothing to do with you personally; this has to do with the hard truths of life that the world, at times, must operate on secrets. If I can't trust you to keep the secret that John Smith kissed Margaret Brown beneath the apple tree than I'd be a foolish businessman to imagine that you could keep secret the construction of a million dollar city."

Sarah looked down.

Ross spoke softly, "Once again dear, I am a business man. I must do certain things to protect not only my interests but the interests of my associates. Think of it this way, if Emily had a secret formula for, I don't know, pumpkin pie and she said, 'Don't tell anyone' I believe you wouldn't do it."

"Emily's my friend."

Ross agreed with her. "Emily's your friend. Now then, a few weeks ago you didn't like my niece Lynn. If you discovered that Lynn had a secret recipe for pumpkin pie and she pleaded, 'Oh, Sarah, please don't tell a soul.' What would you do?"

Sarah cringed. "I'd tell everyone in the state."

"What's the difference?" he asked rhetorically. "You have a vested interest in keeping Emily as your friend, so you are more apt to stick to your rules. But if you have no vested interest, if it really doesn't matter a hill of beans to you, you'll break those rules."

Sarah felt embarrassed.

Ross spoke softly, "That is human nature. Sarah, I simply cannot trust you. I make this judgment not because I have a low regard for you, rather, a juicy secret in the confidence of a sixteen-year-old girl, is at best, an unsteady arrangement. Therefore, I am compelled to add this warning."

Sarah sat up. "Warning?"

"If you tell anyone about Lassiter your father will be in serious trouble."

"My father?"

Ross solemnly nodded.

"Because my father is president of the bank which holds the mortgages of every farmer in the valley?"

"Exactly. If anyone finds out about Lassiter, before we acquire the land- legally and ethically- I will sue. I will take away your house, your mother's dishes, your cameo, everything that you own will become my property. Your father will lose his job because I will put this branch out of business. Every business on Main Street will lose its lease and be evicted. I will turn Eagle Creek into a ghost town overnight with the flick of my pen."

Sarah was bewildered. "You would do that? You would hurt all of those people?"

Ross responded gravely, "Yes. Further more, I am willing to swear an affidavit stating that I will do just that. I will crush Eagle Creek if you, Sarah Conrad, sixteen-year-old girl, breathe a single word to anyone."

He leaned in to her. "My dear, I'm a business man. At times I have to be brutal with my opponents in order to survive."

Sarah collapsed in her chair and covered her face with her hands. "Why do I get into these predicaments?"

Ross said matter-of-factly, "Because you're alive."

She removed her hands.

He continued in a philosophic tone, "Every day you are alive you run the risk of ruin. Every friend you make could turn into an enemy. If you have family; you can disappoint them. Every boy you love could break your heart. This is the cost of being alive."

Sarah growled, "Eve and that stupid forbidden fruit?"

"I suppose so. Sarah, please pay attention to me."

She straightened her dress and tried to relax.

"On Jake's dresser are ten $100 bills. I want you to walk up there and take as many as you would like and place them in your purse."

Sarah couldn't believe her ears. "What?"

"I'm buying your silence. I could make you fear me; however, that's not how I like to live as a person; I'd rather purchase your silence. You will tell no one. Name your price."

"What if I want $2000?"

"Welcome to business school!"

Sarah stood up and slowly walked to the dresser.

Sarah examined the money. Lucre had never tempted her before because she was born wealthy. She really needed nothing besides her parents' love. But, as she looked at the money, she thought about her life beyond tomorrow, beyond next week, next month. She considered her college education and any emergencies that might come up in her life. She might want to own a car someday.

She turned around. "Is this a bribe?"

"No. A bribe is illegal. A bribe is a payment to corrupt someone, to get them to do something inappropriate in your name. Believe me, I don't want you to do anything wrong: I want you to do what is right and remain silent."

Sarah smiled. "I have my price. To do this, however, I'll need Jake's help."

Ross was intrigued. "Explain."

"I want Jake to attend church with me on Sundays. I'll take $500 for myself and you'll give $500 to the church."

Ross shook his head. "No, ma'am! If I donate $500 to a church, they'll want to know who did it and why."

"What if Jake gives $2 a week and Lynn gives $3 a week?"

Ross rubbed his chin. "Then no one will notice our charity," he smiled. "Magnificently played! I can help out the town and ensure your compliance. Everyone wins."

Sarah curtseyed. "Correct, sir."

"My dear you have made your first A-Plus in business school."

"I have a great teacher."

Ross accepted the compliment. "Let me tell you about the town. Construction of Lassiter should begin in January, by then all of the land would be purchased. A design team will already have moved into the area.

It will have electric street lamps. Every house will have a telephone. There'll be a library, parks, and everything else that could make Lassiter a step child of River City. Naturally, a few folks will resist the change, but most will greatly benefit. And, Eagle Creek will change very little."

Sarah liked that part most of all.

After they talked, she returned home; confident and excited about the future.