The stern sheriff settled back in his chair, then focused a narrow gaze on Griffin. “I know who you are, Mr. Black.”
Rather than take issue with his guest’s confrontational opening, Griffin merely nodded and said quizzically, “Hmm. Please continue.”
Holding his gaze, the sheriff intoned, “You are a hard man, Mr. Black. A dangerous man. Not a man to trifle with. You have fought your way to the top of an almost impossible-to-reach peak.” He took a studied sip of his drink and added, “I’m impressed.”
Griffin arched an ironic brow. “But?”
Making it clear that he had a qualification, the sheriff asserted, “You are not above reproach.”
Griffin shrugged. “Indeed.”
As if he hadn’t spoken, the sheriff continued, “No doubt there are many unfortunate people cowering in your wake who made the mistake of trying to thwart you.”
Again, Griffin nodded and chose not to refute the obvious. Instead, he merely said, “Agreed.”
As if he wasn’t particularly interested in Griffin’s responses, the sheriff continued, his eyes narrowed in thoughtful contemplation. “While I’m certain you rarely look back or question your actions, as a man your senior in years, I can tell you that when you do look back, you’ll be surprised at the things that you wish you could change. For example, I blame myself for trying so hard to convince my former wife to stay with me that I nearly caused irreparable harm to my daughters. In retrospect, it was fortunate that my ex-wife ignored my pleas and left us before she could do permanent damage to my girls.”
“But she did do damage?”
“Yes, she did. Particularly to . . . ”
When the frowning man hesitated, Griffin finished his sentence. “To your oldest daughter?”
The sheriff met his gaze head on. “Yes.”
Griffin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. Then, facing the man across from him, he emitted a long sigh. “I’d like to interject, Sheriff Trouble, if I may?”
Titus nodded. “Please.”
Griffin held his gaze. “Like you, sir, I’m a father. I have two children, a son and a daughter. Also like you, my wife left me. But when she did, she took my children from me. Rather than fight for them, I decided that they might be better with their mother than with me. It was a mistake I’ll regret for the rest of my life. Unlike you, Sheriff, your daughters love and honor you. To my children, I’m the father who abandoned them.”
At the sheriff’s studied silence, Griffin decided to go to the issue looming between them. Allowing a smile to touch his lips, he said, “You have a challenging daughter, Sheriff Trouble.”
The sheriff inclined his head in agreement. “I’m aware of that, Mr. Black. And I proudly claim credit for at least some of her willingness to speak her mind—to talk truth to power, if you will.”
Griffin hesitated and, deciding not to take issue with whether Tara’s claims about his work were true, changed the subject. “Regarding what I witnessed this morning . . . and by the way, sir, I’m damn glad I was in that elevator today. If it eases your mind, know that I was humbled by your daughter’s fear. Clearly, something bad happened to her that had a profound effect. For some crazy reason, I happened to be with her when she was frightened out of her mind. Please know that I’m glad I was there, and you should be too.”
Sheriff Trouble blew out an audible sigh. Tossing back the remaining liquid in his glass, he rose to his feet. Nodding in apparent agreement, he said, “Thank you, Griffin, if I may call you that. Knowing that, I will sleep better tonight than I earlier thought I could.”
Without saying good-bye, the enigmatic sheriff strode to the door and closed it firmly behind him.
****
“God, sis, that must have been terrifying. I know how much you hate elevators.”
Glad that she’d agreed to meet her sisters for a late lunch at the Bitter n’ Twisted, Tara nodded in agreement. She was grateful that Tanya and Tatiana didn’t know the origin of her phobia, and if it were up to Tara, they never would. She took a sip of her pinot grigio and ignored the untouched salad in front of her. Knowing that she couldn’t eat it if she wanted to contain the riotous emotions that had her stomach in knots, she minimized her scary experience.
“Yeah, it wasn’t pleasant, Tanya. I’m embarrassed to say that I acted like a bit of an idiot.”
Tatiana shook her head in disagreement. “I know you hate what you think is a weakness, but lots of people don’t like elevators, Tara. I’m impressed that you’ve worked through your uneasiness and are now routinely riding in them.”
In that the likelihood of her ever entering an elevator again was as likely as her climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and that her debilitating fear of elevators topped the “uneasiness” scale by a magnitude of thousands, Tara tried to change the subject. But not soon enough to head off her sisters’ comments about the other passenger in the elevator.
“I know you dislike him, Tara, but from what you describe, it was a good thing that Mr. Black was there. At least you had someone to talk to until the repairmen arrived.”
Fortunately, Tanya spoke up, negating the need for Tara to respond to Tatiana’s wildly off- base conclusion.
Her eyes dancing with delight, Tanya said with an impish drawl, “I dunno, big sis, but if you’ve got to be trapped in an elevator, better that it be that righteous hunk Griffin Black. Damn, what if you’d got stuck with slimy Sledge Perkins or even worse, Mayor Suck-up Watcher? You’d have been pounding on that door, screaming your head off, demanding to get out!”
Given that Tanya had come stunningly close to describing what had actually happened, Tara was more determined than ever to change the subject. Unfortunately, even she couldn’t seem to stay away from the topic on everyone’s mind, including hers. Shrugging, she said, “As much as I’d like to have another glass of wine, I need to meet with Tony Ashkii. As you know, Tony is as opposed to developing Native lands as I am. I want to see if he will write a guest editorial describing his views and why he is fiercely opposed to Black’s project.”
As usual, Tatiana was more guarded in her response than either of her sisters. “I know that you are fiercely opposed to Mr. Black’s development, Tara, but given some of the things I’ve read about him, I wonder if he isn’t more complicated, maybe not as much of a land-grabber as you think.”
Tara sniffed. “You must have been reading some of his press releases, Tatiana. God knows he has an army of sophisticated public relations flacks. If you buy into their garbage, you’d think that he is the second coming of Christ instead of a charlatan out to destroy Native culture as well as their land.”
“Hmm, Tara, I don’t usually argue with your conclusions; you are so much more knowledgeable than I am about these issues. But in this case, I wonder if you aren’t painting Mr. Black a little too simplistically. Yes, he is a successful developer. And he certainly doesn’t share your views about the environment. But I’ve heard that a number of tribes in Oklahoma are big supporters of his.”
Tara blew out an audible sigh. “Go ahead and say it, Tatiana. You think I have my head up my butt when it comes to environmental issues.” She conceded, “I admit, I’m a bit of a fanatic. I’ll even go so far as to agree there are tribes that sing Black’s praises. I’m also aware that there is serious disagreement among tribal members as to whether their land needs to be held collectively by the tribes or redistributed to individual members. Unfortunately, in my view and the views of people like me, no matter how well intentioned corporations or free-market reformers like Black are, their actions disregard Indian cultures and values. Why do you think thousands of Native American protesters are fighting against the proposed construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota? They are doing more than just trying to protect their land. They are fighting for their culture—and, many argue, for their future.”
Seeing the consternation on both of her sister’s faces, Tara decided to pull it back a bit. “Look, I know—I know that I seem rabid when it comes to Black. It’s just that not only is he trafficking in tribal lands, but for God’s sake, look who he’s hooking up with in our community. None other than the slimy, race-baiting, white supremacist Sledge Perkins! That fact alone cries out for further investigation and should make all thoughtful Sierra Vista citizens sit up and take notice. At least ask questions.”
Neither of her sisters responded, but at least it seemed as though she was making a credible argument. Tara said, “You’ll be glad to know that I’m rethinking some of my positions. Not that I would ever support Black outright. But I have talked to enough Native leaders and other officials who think that he is God’s gift to the tribes and the states he works in to decide that I’m going to publish a number of guest editorials—some supportive of Black and some opposed.”
Tanya’s eyes widened. “Wow, Tara, that’s as close to a concession as I’ve ever heard from you.” At Tara’s furrowed frown, she clarified“I understand you haven’t changed your positions, but the fact that you are going to give voice to different opinions is a bit of a breakthrough.”
Before she could respond, Tatiana agreed. “Honestly, Tara, I’m glad to hear you say that you are going to present a range of positions. I, for one, don’t think it is a black and white issue.” She smiled softly. “No pun intended.”
Tanya studied her and then tossed Tara a mischievous grin. “Not that I’m a conspiracy theorist, but given how strongly you’re opposed to Mr. Black—at least to his development track record—I’m wondering if more happened in that elevator than you’re letting on.”
Knowing her cheeks had to be beet red, Tara tossed a twenty-dollar bill on the table and rose to her feet. “I need to get back to the office. That’s for my lunch even though I didn’t eat it.” Looking over her shoulder, she drilled Tanya with a hard gaze. “And no, little sister, nothing happened in the elevator that did anything to change my mind about the infamous Mr. Black.”
Striding through the tavern, ignoring the misogynist catcalls from the usual suspects who seemingly lived at the Bitter n’ Twisted, Tara fought back a shiver. Remembering Tanya’s teasing taunt, she snorted. Right, the notorious Mr. Black hadn’t done anything except turn her fucking life upside down. And become one of a minuscule number of people who knew that at base, she was as demented as many of her enemies thought she was.
****
“I heard you had a visitor, Griffin. And not just any visitor. The honorable Titus Theseus Trouble, sheriff of Cochise County, no less. Is the sheriff as formidable as Jia claimed?”
Griffin smiled at his partner. “Yeah, Magnus, Jia is on-target. The sheriff is an impressive guy.”
When he didn’t continue, Magnus pressed on. “C’mon, man, what did the modern-day Wyatt Earp want? Did he come to tell you that you need to be more respectful to his rabble-rousing daughter? That nice men don’t argue with young women in public?”
When Griffin just shrugged, Magnus’s eyes lit up and he moved in closer. “Or wait just a minute. Is it a coincidence that the mighty sheriff showed up a couple of hours after you and that gorgeous daughter of his were holed up in an elevator that supposedly got stuck? Which leads me to a question. What the hell happened in that elevator? Ms. Trouble looked positively undone. What did you do to her, Griff? Or, given what a feisty woman she is, maybe a better question is what did she do to you? I’d be surprised if she didn’t try to tear down the doors rather than be stuck with her archenemy.”
“Sorry, Magnus. Your imagination is getting away with you. The sheriff was just being neighborly. As for Ms. Trouble looking undone, she was carrying a boatload of files that fell to the floor when the elevator landed. I was just helping her pick them up.”
Settling back in his chair, Griffin said nonchalantly, “However, I’ve been thinking. I might just invite the challenging Gazette editor to our Friday night bash. In that the purpose is to introduce the state’s makers and shakers to our project, it might not hurt to have a naysayer or two in the crowd. We don’t want to appear as though we are unwilling to deal with criticism.”
Magnus looked as though he was going to come back with one of his smart-assed remarks but seemed to change his mind. “That’s not a bad idea, Griffin. As LBJ said about J. Edgar Hoover, ‘Hell, it’s better to have him,’ or in this case, her, ‘inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.’ ” His eyes danced with amusement when he added, “Besides, I don’t know a party I’ve been to that wouldn’t be better with the presence of one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen.”
Griffin met Magnus’s grin with one of his own and said with a wink, “And yes, there is that.”