“Never mind,” Ennis said. “I’m sure by now you’ve run across Will Jensen’s file on Beargrass Village, right?”
Joe turned and opened the file drawer, thumbing through the tabs. “I’m looking,” he said.
Ennis sighed impatiently. “It’s probably a thick one.
When you find it you should read it over. I’m sure there are some errors of judgment you’ll want to correct.”
Joe saw Beargrass written in Will’s cribbed hand on the tab of a folder. He withdrew it from the drawer and placed it on the desk blotter.
“Okay, Mr. Ennis,” Joe said, “I found the file. Can you tell me what this is about?”
Another sigh. “I’m a developer, you know that because you’ve got my card from the other night, right?”
“Yes,” Joe said. “Thank you for the—”
“A developer develops,” Ennis said, cutting Joe off.
“That’s what I do, Mr. Pickett. I’ve invested millions of dollars of my own money and have millions more lined up to develop Beargrass Village here in Jackson Hole. It’s a planned community unlike anything anyone out here has ever done or seen. The concept is brilliant. Forty percent of the home sites have already been committed, and we’re ready to start building.”
“Yes,” Joe said, now understanding why Ennis had been so anxious to get in touch with him.
“Look, I believe in doing things on the upandup. I don’t like games. I didn’t become who I am by fucking around with people. Let me ask you something straight out, Mr. Pickett: Are you one of those people who is against any development?”
“No, I’m not,” Joe answered truthfully.
“You’re not one of those limpwristed greenies who oppose anything new?”
“No.”
“Okay, then. We can talk.”
“You start,” Joe said.
“The ground can’t be broken until all of the permits are in place and all the state and federal bureaucrats sign off on it. Everybody has at this point, except for one.”
“Let me guess,” Joe said.
“That’s right,” Ennis said, his voice rising. “Will Jensen was concerned about bear and moose habitat. He was concerned that Beargrass Village would be built in the middle of a freeranging wildlife corridor.” Ennis said the word concerned with dripping sarcasm, Joe thought. “I tried to explain to him that this project was about wildlife, about animals, and if anything, it would enhance the habitat for the moose and the bears. I tried to show him, personally, but he stood me up for two meetings and when he finally did show up he was belligerent. He physically attacked me.
I had to call the sheriff and have him arrested.”
So you’re the one, Joe thought.
“I’m sorry to hear that happened,” he said. “No representative of our department should have done that.”
Ennis paused, then: “Well, I guess I’m glad you’re sorry.
But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m nearly a year behind in construction. Some of the delays were the fault of the Forest Service, but this last one was because of a single drunken, incompetent game warden who personally cost me a lot of money and inconvenienced more than a few very important people.
“This is a big deal,” Ennis said bluntly, “do you understand that? I’ve gone to the top and I want this resolved yesterday.”
The top meant the governor, Joe thought.
“The vice president of the United States will be in my house for a reception in two weeks. He’s considering building a house in Beargrass after he’s out of office. Do you want me to tell him he can’t because the local game warden won’t sign off on it?”
Oh, Joe thought, that top. “So what do you want from me?”
“I need to know how soon you can get out here,” Ennis said. “I’ll call my experts and have them assembled. They can answer any questions you’ve got, and show you how we plan to address the situation with the bears and the moose.
We’ll show you our strategic plan to create the first planned Good Meat community in the country. I think you’ll leave here impressed as hell, and you’ll give the goahead to the project so we can get started. Finally.”
“Did you say ‘Good Meat community’?”
“That’s what I said.”
Joe recalled what Trey had told him about the practice, as well as Pi Stevenson’s condemnation of it.
“Well?” Ennis asked.
“Well, what?”
“How soon can you get out here for a tour?”
Joe did a quick calculation. His intention, as of that morning, had been to get into the backcountry to check on the outfitter camps as quickly as possible. He also wanted to visit the medical examiner who had been on the scene of Will Jensen’s suicide. Given the urgency of Don Ennis’s request, Joe also wanted to try to address it as soon as
