Gardener: The Roots Of Ancient Evil

by Jacob Mesmer

  “Right, and that other person is the greater fool. That’s pretty much the business plan of my venture capital company. They spend a couple hundred million a year, and all they need is one of these companies to come up with something that sounds halfway decent,” he said.

  “Then they build it up, make it look really good, and flip it to somebody else,” Tommy said. “Exactly what was happening to the housing market recently.”

  “Yeah, until everything fell apart,” Santiago said, shaking his head.

  “So let’s say you throw a couple mil at a company like this, and a year or two goes by and there’s nobody to sell your interests to. What happens then?”

  “Well, for companies like this, they do everything they can to get people like me to keep throwing them money. And just hope one day they’ll make some kind of breakthrough,” Santiago explained.

  “So let me ask you this,” Tommy started, wondering how to phrase it. “Suppose you got some company that knows they’ll never come up with any kind of product, but are just hoping VCs like you will throw a few mil their way. What do you do then?” Tommy asked, not sure if Santiago understood the question.

  “You have no idea. There is so much venture capital money floating around, and so many of them are trying to find the next Facebook before somebody else does, I don’t doubt that half the companies we invest in are pure nonsense. My orders are if it even looks like they might come up with some new gizmo or drug or the next social media thing, I throw ’em a couple mil and see what happens,” Santiago said. “It’s just pure numbers. Throw a couple hundred mil around per year, and one of those will be worth a billion.”

  Tommy sat a minute, let that sink in. “Hey, you ever hear of Shea Industries?” Tommy asked. “That’s who I interviewed with earlier.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard about them, don’t know much about them. Some kind of real estate, commercial? Not sure. I think they’re a really old family, Europe, from way back before the American Revolution,” he said.

  “That’s the impression I got. I talked to Dominic Shea earlier today. Guy wants to hire me,” Tommy said.

  “No kidding. That’s impressive. Hey, man, don’t let my numbers fool you. All this VC business is just like the housing marketing. It’s a huge bubble that’s going to pop eventually. But if you can get in with one of those old-school companies that have been around for a while? That’s like your career for life,” Santiago said. “Tell you what, a few of the older guys, upper management at my place, may know more about that guy. Let me ask around and see what I can find. I won’t be back to Frisco for a couple days, but give me a call in a week or so.”

  “Yeah? You wouldn’t mind doing that?” Tommy asked.

  “Of course. When this VC bubble pops I may need to ask you for a job!”

  Tommy chuckled and leaned back in his chair. Maybe working for some ultra-rich and powerful family wouldn’t be such a bad gig after all.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting!” Viviana said, coming up and putting her hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

  “No worries, just making connections,” he said, grinning at Santiago. As they walked out, Tommy turned back to nod goodbye to Santiago. He caught him checking out Viviana before shooting Tommy a “how the hell did you get a girl like that?” glance.

  Eight

  Tommy opened his eyes and was hit by several sensations. The first was that he was in a strange bed. The second was that he wasn’t alone. Nor were he and his bed partner wearing any clothes. The previous night came flooding back in an instant. Dinner had been incredible. Not the food, just how easily the conversation flowed. Every joke he made she thought was funny. No uncomfortable gaps in the conversation. No weird talk about job hunting or venture capitalists. Just an enjoyable evening.

  Deciding to go back to her place was easy. She’d invited and he’d accepted. He didn’t have to come up with an excuse to keep her away from his drunk dad. Tommy suspected that she knew he lived at home, being a waiter. He didn’t know if she chose to go back to her place because she didn’t want to interrupt the flow, or because she wanted home field advantage. Either way, he didn’t care. The clock read half past six, and he suspected he would be getting the boot shortly, since she had to get ready for her job. His shift didn’t start until eleven, so he wasn’t in any rush.

  He rolled over to face her. She was lying her back, he on her left side. She felt him and rolled her head softly, making a small sound.

  “What time you need to get up?” he asked softly. She smiled, her eyes still closed, and shrugged her shoulders.

  “Little bit,” she said. But then her eyes popped open when one of the phones started vibrating. Tommy doubted it was his, since nobody would have any reason to call him this early. He reached down onto the floor and found his slacks. Felt his phone.

  “Not mine,” he said. She reached up to her bedside stand and picked hers up, checking the number.

  “Do you know how early it is?” she asked immediately. Then Tommy heard her laugh, and mumble her agreement a few times.

  “You’re coming in today? Wait, how do you know this guy?” she asked. Tommy was curious, but didn’t want to eavesdrop.

  “Well, just be careful. Those guys don’t spend all that money for nothing. How long are you staying?” Tommy listened, trying to imagine who it was and what they were talking about. “Well, let me know when you’ve got time, and we’ll get together, I’ll show you my place,” she said and ended the call.

  “My sister’s crazy,” she said.

  Tommy chuckled. Always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. “Older or younger?” he asked.

  “Younger. Still in school,” she said.

  Tommy sensed a bit of concern. “She’s coming to visit?” he asked carefully.

  “Yeah, but, uh, we have issues,” she said.

  Tommy decided he’d leave it alone. Family issues were the last thing he wanted to talk about. Or think about. If he did accept that job with Shea, at least he’d be able to move out. But still being in town, he would feel obligated to watch out for him. Check in on him. He’d been hoping to get a job somewhere far away, where he wouldn’t really have a choice. Horrible as it sounded, even to himself, Tommy would rather pay for a service to take care of his dad as he slowly slipped into alcoholic old age than deal with it himself. There were still far too many unresolved issues.

  “But she is coming, so do you want to meet her?” Viviana asked, a little unsure.

  “Sure. But when you say ‘crazy,’ does that mean she’s going to be like carrying an ax around and swinging it indiscriminately at people?” Tommy asked as seriously as he could.

  She poked him in the side despite her laughter. “No axes, but she just has, shall we say, an interesting way to finance her education. Our parents think she’s got a grant,” she said, sitting up.

  “Does she sell cocaine or something?” Tommy said, trying to bring back her smile.

  “No, but she uses one of those sugar-daddy sites,” Viviana said. “Older guys who sponsor girls through college.”

  Tommy could tell it wasn’t something that was easy for her to talk about. “I tried one of those. No takers. I had to borrow a shit ton instead,” he said.

  “You were probably targeting the wrong market,” she teased. “But just so you know, whenever we talk about that we get into a big fight. So if it comes up, maybe you should hide somewhere.”

  “She doesn’t want to let you pay?” Tommy asked. He imagined a PhD at a cutting-edge biotech company likely did pretty well.

  “Like I said, issues,” Viviana said. “Sorry about that.” She slipped back under the covers, nose to nose with Tommy.

  Tommy walked into his house at a little after nine. He could hear his dad in the kitchen. He desperately needed coffee, as he hadn’t stopped anywhere on the way home. He decided to go straight to his bedroom and wait until his dad left, which he usually did around ten. That would give him about forty-five minutes to grab some coffee and so
mething to eat. He plugged in his laptop, not having checked any of his emails since yesterday afternoon.

  One was particularly interesting. A medium-sized furniture company he’d had a phone interview with a few weeks ago was asking for him to call them. Before making the call, he quickly reviewed his notes, looking for their folder on his hard drive. Twenty-seven employees. Slowly growing market share. Mostly a family business, but they needed a general manager. They were starting to get orders from small showrooms across the country, and a few of their dining room sets were being sold in department stores. The position started at $60K a year, but would increase as the business increased.

  Based on the information he’d gathered from the interview and the research he’d done on the company, he was certain he would be able to increase their sales by at least twenty or thirty percent. Most of their sales came from referrals and word of mouth. They’d grown very slowly over the past twenty-five years. With the right advertising and marketing strategy, maybe hiring a few more builders to increase throughput, Tommy could easily see this company growing in size in the next five to ten years.

  Doubling the size of a medium-sized business during a down economy would certainly be good for his career. If this email had come in two days ago, he would’ve jumped at the chance. After last night, he wasn’t so sure. But was it wise to make a career decision because of a relationship, one that hadn’t even started yet? He’d call them to see what they had to say. If they did offer him the job, which was likely since they wanted him to call back, could he delay the decision for a week or longer? He would like to see if Santiago had anything to say about Shea. And to see what developed with Viviana. Hearing his dad mutter to himself in the kitchen didn’t make things easier.

  Nine

  “Max, would you be so kind as to bring the car around, I have another engagement for this evening,” he said.

  He’d received her call a few hours ago. She was just about to get on the plane. In his experience, unless they actually were at the airport and standing in the boarding line, they weren’t coming. He waited the forty-five minutes for Max to call him and let him know the car was downstairs. He walked down; this time no receptionist in the lobby greeted him. He’d checked into a mid-sized hotel.

  This date with Laney, who should have landed and found her way to the hotel room he’d prepared for her, had come up unexpectedly. She seemed a bit timid at first, but after a couple of unexpected gifts, she’d agreed to come and meet him. In his experience, about half of the girls he met through the various websites and agencies never intended to meet him. They thought they were being clever. Pretended to have a long-distance relationship with him. He gave them a month, and if they didn’t make an effort, they were put on a very special list. A list that he would keep with him until every single name had been crossed off. They were all crossed off eventually, but he had a special procedure for those who’d purposely deceived him.

  He walked out to the street just as Max pulled up. “Afternoon, Max, how’s everything?”

  “Just fine, sir. We’re picking her up at the Hilton?”

  “Yes, that’s correct,” he said and sat back to enjoy the ride. They arrived in front of the Hilton in twenty minutes.

  “Edmond?” she asked, picking up on the second ring.

  “But of course,” he said. Every girl got a different name. A different background. A different reason for spending money on a girl young enough to be his daughter. The truth was they didn’t really care. So long as the money flowed, they would pretend to believe him if he said he was the King of France. He waited until he saw her come out of the lobby and look around. He opened the back door of the car and climbed out. She waved, eyes bright. Happy to see her benefactor. Eager to play the role of a loyal girlfriend, and all for the price of one semester of private tuition.

  “How was your flight? OK?” he asked.

  She nodded, ran up to him, threw her arms around him. He enjoyed the physical sensations, the smell, the feeling of their bodies pressing together. But he knew it was fake. If he told her right now she’d never get another nickel out of him she would forget him in an instant. But he would enjoy her this night. He would enjoy the fantasy. As would she.

  “So, what are we doing?” she asked innocently. She sat closely to him, as they all did.

  “I know of a special place. It’s a perfect place to enjoy the sunset,” he said. She smiled and slipped her fingers in between his. Max drove slowly, patiently. When he was about ten minutes out, he rolled down the dividing glass.

  “We’ll be there in about five minutes, sir,” he said. His employer nodded, and Max rolled the window back up.

  “So, have you given any thought to your future? What you’ll do when you graduate?” he asked.

  They’d eaten lightly, slowly. He’d brought a bottle of 2001 Araujo Eisele, a Cabernet from the Napa Valley. She took a few sips, not mentioning anything specific. The bottle wasn’t special, slightly less than a thousand dollars. He doubted she’d have known the difference between the Araujo and a bottle of ten-dollar swill from the local market.

  “Not yet, I really haven’t had time. I’m just trying to get through my classes,” she said, shaking her head.

  “And how are those classes? You said one of your design classes was particularly difficult,” he said, trying his best to sound concerned.

  “I think I’m starting to get the hang of it, but it takes a lot of work,” she said.

  He smiled and glanced back at Max. A slightly longer gaze told Max what to do. Make sure no traffic was coming, and let his employer know when it was safe to proceed. They weren’t completely isolated, but Max would have at least a minute of warning if any vehicles came up the long winding road to the park. The road ended at the park, and it was the height of rush hour, so it wasn’t likely to get any other visitors here tonight.

  He waited until Max gave him the all clear, and then turned to his date. How to dispatch this one? It had been a while since he’d used his hands. He sat up, motioned for her to sit with her back to him, so they could watch the aftereffects of a wonderful sunset. The sky was still resonating with a reddish-yellow, bringing to mind an orange marigold.

  “Pretty, isn’t it?” he asked softly into her ear. She nodded, pushing up against him. He reached around her neck, his right hand wrapped in a napkin to not leave any identifying marks, and gripped her tightly. He wrapped his legs around her waist and his left arm around her midsection, pinning her arms to her stomach. She struggled briefly, then after a flash of panic, turned motionless. He slowly released his grip and carefully laid her down. He glanced back at Max, who appeared by his side.

  “I’d like to leave her here; I don’t think there’ll be any traces back. I think she’ll look good under this sunset,” he said. “Help me get her undressed.”

  Max nodded, and they quickly removed her clothes. He stood watching while Max bundled up everything else, leaving only her nude, lifeless body, eyes still open.

  “Before we leave, please let me make sure you’re not connected in any way,” Max cautioned his employer, who nodded from the back seat. Max quickly reviewed all of their transactions, the credit cards used to pay for the gifts, her tuition, and the plane fare. After two minutes, he turned to the back seat.

  “OK, Mr. Shea, you’re all clear.”

  “Thank you, Max.”

  Ten

  “OK, hold it right there, Tommy. You’ve got some explaining to do,” Mallory demanded, cornering Tommy in the kitchen.

  “What?”

  “You know what!” she said, taking a step closer. “Selena, a little help?” she asked as Selena walked by, wondering what the serious-looking conversation was about.

  “Aw, jeez, you guys,” Tommy said, his face turning red.

  “Where? Who?” Selena demanded.

  “Seriously? Is it that obvious?” Tommy asked, unable to hide his grin. He tried to squeeze out but Mallory put up her arm, blocking him. “All right, that girl,
Vivi, the one you saw me talking to earlier,” he explained.

  “I thought you chickened out,” Mallory said.

  “I did, but—wait, what? I didn’t chicken out,” he said, defending himself.

  “Whatever. How’d it happen?” Selena demanded.

  “I had a preliminary interview, I was down at the Promenade, wearing my suit, and we bumped into each other,” he explained.

  “And?” Mallory demanded.

  “And nothing, man!” Tommy said, ducking underneath her arm. Both Mallory and Selena laughed as he rapidly walked away. Keeping it to himself somehow made it easier to think it was just a fling, but actually having a conversation about it made him wonder. What if it really did work out? What if that job with Shea turned out to be OK? That would be enough money to hire somebody to look after his dad, which would make living in the same city a little less uncomfortable. He stopped himself before he let his fantasy run away with him.

  “Hey, Mallory, I have a question, if you don’t mind,” Tommy said as his shift was coming to a close.

  “Yeah?” she asked, turning to look at him. She noticed his apprehension, and instinctively motioned him back to the kitchen. “What’s up?”

  “How do you know, I mean what do you guys do, I mean you girls, when you want to have a relationship with somebody other than just a fling?” he asked, clearly embarrassed.

  “What happened the next morning? What was the first thing she did when she woke up?” Mallory asked. She seemed to know that they wouldn’t have gone back to Tommy’s place.

  “Um, I asked her what time she had to get ready for work,” Tommy said.