"About his losses at that damned casino. About the way you came to his rescue and covered his debts. The whole sordid tale."
"I see." Lucas sat down, unable to think of anything else to say. "I had a feeling he might do that."
Calvin's mouth thinned with disgust. "Yes, I'm sure you did."
"Rye, what is this all about?"
"I'll be blunt. What do you want from me?"
"I don't want anything from you."
Calvin narrowed his eyes. "We both know you didn't rush to Dillon's aid out of the kindness of your heart. You took advantage of the situation for your own purposes. I would like to know what those purposes are."
"I don't want anything from you. Rye." Lucas was aware of a great weight of weariness descending on him. Absently, he rubbed the back of his neck. He wished he could lose himself in an illusion of the hidden grotto in the islands. But he would need a capable prism for that sort of talent project, he reminded himself. A full-spectrum prism. Hell, he needed Amaryllis.
"There is something you should know," Calvin said quietly. "Shortly after the conclusion of the Western Islands Action, a reporter came to see me at my office."
Lucas stopped massaging his neck. He folded both hands on his desk. "Nelson Buriton?"
"Yes." Calvin's mouth twisted. "Buriton said he had some information about Jackson's death. He wanted to discuss the matter."
"I hope you threw him out the door."
Calvin's gaze was unblinking. "I did. Eventually. But I made the mistake of listening to what he had to say first. It was . . . upsetting."
"Forget Buriton. I dealt with him in the islands. The man is an opportunist. He'll say or do anything to get a story."
Calvin got to his feet and went to the window. He stood there looking down at the street below. "He certainly told me a pack of outrageous and insulting falsehoods."
"I'm not surprised."
"He claimed that during the period in which he covered the Western Islands Action he heard talk of an affair that had supposedly gone on between Jackson and your wife, Dora."
"You should know better than to listen to a reporter's lies, Rye. Buriton was just trying to goad you. He hoped you'd become emotional and blurt out some tantalizing tidbit he could have used on the ten o'clock news."
Calvin's shoulders stiffened. "He also informed me that he had heard rumors that Jackson actively conspired with the pirates. He said that there was a strong possibility that my son had betrayed you not just with Dora but in a business sense as well. Buriton said Jackson may have sold you out in exchange for the promise of becoming the sole owner of Lodestar Exploration."
"I'm glad you didn't give any credence to Buriton's lies."
Calvin fell quiet again for a long moment. Then he turned slowly to face Lucas. "I didn't believe a word of what he had to say, of course."
"Of course not."
"But I have always wondered if he approached you with the same disgusting gossip."
"He did. But I reminded him that I was the one who found Jackson's body. And I was the one who searched the records and files of the pirates' leader after it was all over. I know the truth."
"Yes. Yes, I suppose you do."
"Nelson Buriton hasn't bothered you again since that one visit, has he?"
"No."
"I didn't think so. When he came to see me, I warned him that if he attempted to go public with his lies, he would answer to me. It all happened three years ago, Calvin. I know Buriton's kind. There's no profit for him now in resurrecting ancient gossip. He'd only lose ratings if he went on the air with unfounded, three-year-old rumors."
Calvin watched Lucas intently. "It occurred to me at the time that the only person who had the clout to refute Buriton's accusations was you."
"You're right. As the president of Lodestar and the one in charge of the defense of the islands, my account of events is unassailable. Buriton could do nothing without my cooperation."
"And you refused to give it to him?"
"Why would I bother to help him put together a story filled with lies and innuendoes?" Lucas leaned back in his chair and braced his hands on the arms. "There was certainly nothing in it for me. Lodestar didn't need that kind of publicity."
"You're telling me that you forced Buriton to drop the story because you feared it would be bad for business?"
Lucas smiled humorlessly. "You know me as well as anyone. Rye. Can you think of any other reason why I would have bothered to kill Buriton's story?"
A deep flush suffused Calvin's patrician cheekbones. He held Lucas's gaze for a long moment, but eventually his eyes slid away. He began to pace the office. "You have acknowledged that your actions are grounded in reasons of expediency. Can you blame me for wondering why you chose to rescue Dillon the other night?"
"No. But you'll have to take my word for it that I had no ulterior motive. If Dillon had not chosen to tell you the truth about his situation, you would never have heard it from me. I promised him that I wouldn't discuss the subject with anyone. Whatever else you may think of me. I'm a man of my word."
Calvin paused to study a photograph of Port LeConner that hung on one wall. "Dillon tells me that he wants to go to work for Lodestar."
"I know."
"His mother is opposed to the idea."
"I'm not surprised."
"She blames Lodestar for Jackson's death."
"You mean she blames me."
Calvin did not respond. He stared at the photo.
"She can't protect Dillon forever," Lucas said quietly. "He's twenty-three years old. You and I both know he needs a chance to become a man. He can't do that if you and Beatrice keep him tied to home and hearth. I realize you don't want him to work for me, but there are worse alternatives."
"You refer to that damned huckster who's trying to get him to invest in a fire crystal exploration project?"
"Yes. One way or another, Dillon will seek his own path. He's got spirit and ambition, and he hungers for adventure. Don't kill those qualities, Calvin. He'll resent you for the rest of his life if you try."
"I don't need your advice on how to rear my son."
Lucas said nothing.
Calvin put his hand on the knob. "I owe you sixty-five thousand dollars."
"No. You don't owe me a damn thing. I won't accept your check. Dillon owes me the sixty-five grand. Someday he'll repay it."
"It's a huge debt for a boy his age."
"If he's as ambitious as I think he is, he can pay it off in three years working for Lodestar."
Calvin's jaw tightened. "I tried to make him take money from me to pay you off. He refused."
"That and the fact that he confessed the truth about the debt should tell you something important about him."
Calvin drew himself up. "And just what would that be?"
"That you've done a fine job raising him," Lucas said softly. "It's time to show him that you have some faith in him. Let him become the man he wants to be."
"My wife is terrified that he'll come to the same end that his brother did. We don't need another dead hero in the family."
"There are no more pirates in the Western Islands," Lucas pointed out dryly. "And I can assure you that, as president of Lodestar, I've taken measures to protect the islands and the people who work there."
Calvin's hand clenched around the knob. "I wish I could be certain that you didn't believe anything Nelson Buriton had to say about Jackson."
Lucas met Calvin's eyes across the width of the office. "I know the truth about Jackson."
"So you say. Still, I can't help but wonder if you've got your hooks into Dillon in order to exact revenge for what you may think happened in the islands three years ago."
"I'll be honest with you. Rye. Even if I believed all of Buriton's innuendoes and lies concerning Jackson, I wouldn't take my revenge out on Dillon."
Calvin searched his face. "Why not?"
"Dillon is not Jackson. I don't believe in the old adage about making the family pay for the sins of the children."