where all equipment was serviced. On the way to the garage, Carter thought about redistributing part of the profits from the sale of excess wheat through the payroll as bonuses to motivate him for the future.
Once in the workshop, Carter came across two mechanics and the chief engineer, who were sitting at a makeshift table made from a truck tire and a meter-long piece of plywood, playing poker. Since Carter highly valued work, he forbade gambling, which is why the workshop stocked a bunch of coins in denominations of one, five and ten cents, which replaced the gaming chips.
– Hello everyone – Carter said, raising his open palm.
Everyone greeted loudly and in unison, and chief engineer Seth Crawford, age forty-five, added:
– Chief, how are you?
Carter answered, looking at the equipment around him:
– Nothing tragic, so great.
– Would you like to join us? asked twenty-nine-year-old mechanic Matthew Rabb.
– Come on, Mr. Beckran – called the second mechanic, twenty-seven-year-old Edmund Kaps.
Carter took a deep breath and said:
– Eh, you guys are strange.
– Why is this, boss?
– What do you mean “why”? How else can we explain your proposal to sit down at the table and punish you? – With these words, Carter began counting out twenty coins from three jars.
Poker coins were a kind of common fund. They were sorted into three-liter jars, from which they were taken out each time and counted out for the game.
Sitting down at the table, Carter slammed his palms and said decisively:
– Well, distribute the cards. Now the authorities will punish you.
While Edmund was distributing, Carter asked:
– Are we ready to mow the lawn?
The phrase “mowing the lawn” in the workshop meant harvesting when the harvester left bare soil.
– Chief, you’re a little late. It’s been three days since we brought our weapons into combat readiness.
– And you must be punished for being late – Edmund said in a slightly timid tone, dealing out the last card.
– You’re still messing with me here, suckers. – There was synchronized laughter at the table, and Carter added: – You have already been told that I will be the one doing the punishment here.
Along with the game, Seth talked in detail about what they had done with the equipment over the past two weeks. Carter asked about the components required for subsequent repairs and the condition of the equipment, taking into account wear and tear. Seth said that one of the pickups needed new tires, and also that all passenger cars would be better off switching to a different motor oil, which he had recently spotted at the store. The two combines were almost at the end of their working capacity, but Seth convinced that it was better to buy only one next year, since one of the two old ones could be disassembled for spare parts and put some of them on the second one, and thus make it work for a couple more seasons.
After Carter’s father left his job due to spinal problems, Carter began rapidly making changes to his company. He purchased slightly different equipment and updated grain storage facilities; the crop was sold in other places, where they paid two or three times more for each ton, since Carter also delayed the sale, waiting for the most opportune moment when prices soared to the limit. This was the only manifestation of passion in Carter’s character, which could have cost him great financial losses. But his instincts never let him down, and no one understood how he knew when to wait to sell and when to get rid of the goods as soon as possible. One way or another, Carter never miscalculated the timing of the sale. Carter completely abandoned some types of crops. Now he didn’t even want to hear about cabbage or corn. He was interested in wheat, barley, rice, potatoes, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and watermelons. Having taken over the business from his father’s hands, Carter redistributed the crops and planted one plot with trees, which he also made good money on, recouping the costs in the third year. Now his plans included vineyards. Recently he even inspected a wine cellar in Arizona to start creating his own brand and produce a product that, in ten to fifteen years, could be sold to some moneybags willing to pay sky-high prices for one bottle.
Carter had very far-reaching plans.
6. Closed lake
The boat station remained the only way in Heartstone to get out on the lake. There were no households along the entire coastline. The only public beach was adjacent to the boat station. The owner of the station, Ruben Hustler, decided from the very beginning to make a deal with the authorities, refusing to charge residents for visiting the beach in exchange for tax breaks, pledging to take care of the beach. There was not a day that Ruben regretted this decision. With the opening of the season, the beach was always full of people, among whom there were always those who wanted to ride a boat, speedboat or catamaran.
Even at sixty-five years old, with mild arthritis and varicose veins, Ruben did not want to think about retiring. The boat station was the meaning of his life. He was constantly changing something at his facility. Ruben considered the most serious acquisition to be the launching of the longboat, which became very popular with many unfaithful husbands and wives in Heartstone. In a longboat in the center of the lake, no one will definitely catch you. This was the safest place to cheat on your other half without leaving any evidence behind. Inside, the covered cabin had quite comfortable fold-out seats, although Ruben had not thought that it would be precisely these types of clients who would be interested in his best vessel. He bought a longboat with the expectation that it would be rented on some holidays and birthdays, which is why he selected a ship with the most spacious deck possible, in which there would be room to spread out.
Over the years, Ruben Hustler became more and more attached to the boat station. After one of the two administrators quit, he did not look for a new one, but preferred to work half the time on his own. Spending time on the beach in the sun with a newspaper and cold lemonade is everything you need to ensure that old age is not wasted. At least that’s what Ruben thought. Even in his youth, he treated material possessions with trepidation. More than his property, Ruben valued only his friends, who did not allow him to become completely lonely in his old age. This was what he feared most. Ruben was literally obsessed with not inconveniencing anyone, being as helpful as possible, and never refusing to help anyone. In this regard, he succeeded greatly and was still far from having stopped finding a common language with people one or two generations younger than him. Despite being engaged in commerce, hardly anyone could call him greedy. On the day he received a call from New York and was told that his daughter had given birth to a grandson, Ruben posted an ad that all rowing boats and catamarans were available for rent for free for three days. He wanted to see happy people, because he himself felt warm in his soul, and it didn’t matter for what reason others were happy. All that matters is that they all had a good time. Ruben began to value such moments especially strongly after he was widowed at forty-nine.
Early in the morning he drove up to the office in his pickup truck. Ruben pulled over in front of the entrance to get out and open the gate. But he only managed to get out of the car, after which his mouth could no longer close, and his knees began to give way. In front of his eyes the body of a girl hung on the gate in a crucified position. Her hands were impaled on the sharpened pins that covered the top of the lattice fence, and fixed in a horizontal position, and her head hung down, her chin buried in her chest.
– Yes, you are here with the trunks and this is your town. I already understood – Spencer spoke through the bars of his cell after spending the night in the cell. – That’s it, come on, let me out.
– Shut your mouth! – Harry shouted.
– There is no authority over you – Spencer barked displeasedly,