like to ask you something, Mike.”
“Sure.”
They went out onto the big unscreened porch and sat on the railing. The pool was closed, the pool lights out.
“Mike, I wanted to talk to you about something that may be none of my business. But I know you’re a good friend of Troy’s. And I think you’re fond of Mary.”
“Yes.”
“Mary is a fine woman. Very loyal.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I don’t think Troy would tell you. I guess it would be a matter of pride with him. And a matter of loyalty for Mary not to tell you their troubles. But Troy is in trouble, Mike. Bad financial trouble.”
“With Horseshoe Pass Estates?”
“Yes. He went into it too fast, without adequate capitalization. He wouldn’t listen to his friends down here, people who know the local picture. He did pretty well as a small builder. But this is just too big for him. If he keeps going on the way he has, he may lose the whole thing, and Mary’s money along with it.”
“Have you told him this?”
“I’ve tried to, Mike. But he’s a stubborn man.”
“What do you think I can do?”
“I don’t really know. I thought you should know about it, though. Troy has been trying desperately to line up additional financing. He’s even tried to get hold of Debbie Ann’s money. But she’s scared of that project. Rightly. Troy has the idea a few more hundred thousand dollars will get it over the hump.”
“That much!”
“It will take much more than that, Mike. He could throw two or three hundred thousand more in the pot right now and all it would do would be delay the inevitable. And whoever goes in with him will take a fat loss. But I don’t think he’s going to find anybody.”
“What can he do?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible that if he was willing to give the whole thing up, he might come out of it with a loss, a substantial one but not a crippling one. I’ve thought that, as a good friend of his, you might find a chance to talk sense to him. Has he talked to you about investing in it?”
“No.”
“He might, Mike. And he’ll talk about the tremendous potential. If and when he does, you might say that you’d like to look into it. You get in touch with me and I’ll introduce you to a man named Corey Haas. He’s put money into it, mostly because he was a close friend of Mary’s father. The loss won’t hurt Corey. But he can give you the true picture of how deep Troy has gone. Then that will give you something to go back to Troy with—questions to ask that he can’t answer. And if you wake him up, you may be doing him and Mary a great favor. I’d hate to see them lose everything.”
“Troy showed me around the area over there, Rob. I know they had to stop the development work because they ran out of working capital, but I can’t see why it would take such an enormous amount to.…”
“Mike, when you start with eight hundred acres of bay frontage swamp, and you have to fill it up to grade, dig canals, dredge, sea-wall, put in roads, curbs, street lighting, sewage, drainage, landscaping, you run into a staggering expense.”
“Couldn’t he complete one small section at a time?”
“It’s too late for that. I thought you should know the picture, Mike. It’s a mess, frankly. He’s licked and he doesn’t want to admit it to himself. I suppose there’s an emotional angle.”
“How do you mean?”
“Nearly all of it is Mary’s money. He could have plunged into this thing to make so much more that he wouldn’t have any… feeling of dependence. And that could be why he can’t look at it rationally. And why he’s… perhaps drinking a little heavier than he should.”
Mike looked at Robert Raines, at this sincere, competent, cordial, helpful, courteous young man—blocky, brush-cut and photogenically weathered—who lounged in the rectangle of light that came from the nearby window, one Dak-clad haunch on the cypress railing, raw silk jacket sitting neatly on husky
“Sure.”
They went out onto the big unscreened porch and sat on the railing. The pool was closed, the pool lights out.
“Mike, I wanted to talk to you about something that may be none of my business. But I know you’re a good friend of Troy’s. And I think you’re fond of Mary.”
“Yes.”
“Mary is a fine woman. Very loyal.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I don’t think Troy would tell you. I guess it would be a matter of pride with him. And a matter of loyalty for Mary not to tell you their troubles. But Troy is in trouble, Mike. Bad financial trouble.”
“With Horseshoe Pass Estates?”
“Yes. He went into it too fast, without adequate capitalization. He wouldn’t listen to his friends down here, people who know the local picture. He did pretty well as a small builder. But this is just too big for him. If he keeps going on the way he has, he may lose the whole thing, and Mary’s money along with it.”
“Have you told him this?”
“I’ve tried to, Mike. But he’s a stubborn man.”
“What do you think I can do?”
“I don’t really know. I thought you should know about it, though. Troy has been trying desperately to line up additional financing. He’s even tried to get hold of Debbie Ann’s money. But she’s scared of that project. Rightly. Troy has the idea a few more hundred thousand dollars will get it over the hump.”
“That much!”
“It will take much more than that, Mike. He could throw two or three hundred thousand more in the pot right now and all it would do would be delay the inevitable. And whoever goes in with him will take a fat loss. But I don’t think he’s going to find anybody.”
“What can he do?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible that if he was willing to give the whole thing up, he might come out of it with a loss, a substantial one but not a crippling one. I’ve thought that, as a good friend of his, you might find a chance to talk sense to him. Has he talked to you about investing in it?”
“No.”
“He might, Mike. And he’ll talk about the tremendous potential. If and when he does, you might say that you’d like to look into it. You get in touch with me and I’ll introduce you to a man named Corey Haas. He’s put money into it, mostly because he was a close friend of Mary’s father. The loss won’t hurt Corey. But he can give you the true picture of how deep Troy has gone. Then that will give you something to go back to Troy with—questions to ask that he can’t answer. And if you wake him up, you may be doing him and Mary a great favor. I’d hate to see them lose everything.”
“Troy showed me around the area over there, Rob. I know they had to stop the development work because they ran out of working capital, but I can’t see why it would take such an enormous amount to.…”
“Mike, when you start with eight hundred acres of bay frontage swamp, and you have to fill it up to grade, dig canals, dredge, sea-wall, put in roads, curbs, street lighting, sewage, drainage, landscaping, you run into a staggering expense.”
“Couldn’t he complete one small section at a time?”
“It’s too late for that. I thought you should know the picture, Mike. It’s a mess, frankly. He’s licked and he doesn’t want to admit it to himself. I suppose there’s an emotional angle.”
“How do you mean?”
“Nearly all of it is Mary’s money. He could have plunged into this thing to make so much more that he wouldn’t have any… feeling of dependence. And that could be why he can’t look at it rationally. And why he’s… perhaps drinking a little heavier than he should.”
Mike looked at Robert Raines, at this sincere, competent, cordial, helpful, courteous young man—blocky, brush-cut and photogenically weathered—who lounged in the rectangle of light that came from the nearby window, one Dak-clad haunch on the cypress railing, raw silk jacket sitting neatly on husky
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