Dark Waters Read Free Page B

and what’s been done to them; I have no interest in profiting at their expense.”
    “Me neither,” Ethan said. Twelve million dollars , he thought, and tried not to smile.
    “Then we’re on the same page. Have your lawyer contact my lawyer and we’ll get the contracts drawn up.”
    “Okay. But I have to ask: Why me?”
    “We want a solid local firm with a history of conscientiousness. The only thing is, I’d like to get started almost immediately. Can you do that?”
    “Do you have the plans?”
    “I’ll have the architect send them over.”
    “Then I’ll look at them immediately and get back to you.”
    Bloom smiled and touched his nose again. “I knew you were the right man for the job, Ethan. May I call you Ethan?”
    For twelve million dollars , Ethan thought, you can call me Princess . “Sure.”
    “Now, I’ll need some biographical information for my website and the press. Stuff to show how environmentally conscious you are.”
    Although he never deliberately tried to destroy anything he didn’t have to, Ethan certainly met no environmentalist’s definition of green . “Who said I was?”
    “It’s just image. I know you’re conscientious, but we want to accent it. Not,” he said with sudden seriousness, “ lie about it. I won’t tolerate that. But you employ legal immigrant labor, you’ve worked to keep the character of neighborhoods, you’ve kept your buildings within environmental codes …”
    “None of those were my ideas, though. It’s just what the jobs entailed.”
    “Still, you did them and they count. And didn’t you grow up on a dairy farm?”
    “That’s right, over in Monroe.”
    “And there was something else.…”
    “I served in the Iraq War?”
    “Yes, that’s definitely a positive. But it was something else.…” At last Bloom snapped his fingers and touched his nose again. “Your brother, that’s right. Well, your adopted brother.”
    “He’s my brother,” Ethan said with certainty.
    “Of course, of course. Isn’t he Asian?”
    Ethan nodded. “He’s Hmong. Originally from Laos.”
    “And he’s gay, right?”
    Ethan tried not to wince at the thought that Bloom knew so much about his family. Of course the man would’ve checked him out, but still … “Yes. But seriously, I don’t want him brought into this.”
    “You’re not ashamed of him, are you?” Bloom said with sudden outrage.
    “No!” Ethan almost shouted. Then he caught himself. “He’s a cop, that’s all. He’s got his own job to consider.”
    “Oh,” Bloom said. “I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”
    “But he is off-limits,” Ethan repeated.
    Bloom waved his hands. “Of course, of course. We have plenty to work with anyway. This will be a pleasure. We’ll be in touch soon. As I said, we want to move quickly on this.”
    After Bloom left, Ethan sat behind his desk, staring into space, wondering if the meeting had really happened. Twelve-million-dollar contracts didn’t just fall from the sky, yet this one did. And it was attached to a public figure whose notoriety might push Ethan’s firm to the front of a lot of lists.
    When he looked up, Ambika stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. “You’re happy to get this man’s business, aren’t you?”
    “Of course. I’m happy to get any business. Why?”
    “I don’t trust him.”
    “Really? Why not?”
    “I can’t put my finger on it at the moment. But there’s something … off about him.”
    “He’s a politician. Maybe it’s just the company he keeps.”
    “No, it’s him. I’m sure. I have a good sense for these things.”
    He looked at her dubiously, but she only raised her chin and looked at him with faux seriousness. “Others have thought as you do, sahib. They have learned not to underestimate my powers.”
    ETHAN WALKED DOWN State Street to Michelangelo’s Coffee Shop, got a latte, and sat in the corner with his laptop. He tapped in Bloom’s name again and pulled up some of the past projects the man