Vincent filled the Bunn machine with water and spooned ground coffee from a can the size of a drum into a paper filter the size of a hat. He set it going and Reacher listened to the water gulping and hissing and watched the precious brown liquid streaming down into the flask.
Reacher said, ‘Start at the beginning.’
Vincent said, ‘The beginning is a long time ago.’
‘It always is.’
‘They’re an old family.’
‘They always are.’
‘The first one I knew was old man Duncan. He was a farmer, from a long line of farmers. I guess the first one came here on a land grant. Maybe after the Civil War. They grew corn and beans and built up a big acreage. The old man inherited it all. He had three sons, Jacob, Jasper, and Jonas. It was an open secret that the boys hated farming. But they kept the place going until the old man died. So as not to break his heart. Then they sold up. They went into the trucking business. Much less work. They split up their place and sold it off to their neighbours. Which made sense all around. What was a big spread back in the days of horses and mules wasn’t so big any more, with tractors and all, and economies of scale. Land prices were high back then, but the boys sweetened the deals. They gave discounts, if their neighbours signed up to use Duncan Transportation to haul away their harvests. Which again made sense all around. Everyone was getting what they wanted. Everyone was happy.’
‘Until?’
‘Things went sour kind of slowly. There was a dispute with one of the neighbours. Ancient history now. This was twenty-five years ago, probably. But it was an acrimonious situation. It festered all one summer, and then that guy didn’t get his crophauled away. The Duncans just wouldn’t do it. It rotted on the ground. The guy didn’t get paid that year.’
‘He couldn’t find someone else to haul it?’
‘By then the Duncans had the county all sewn up. Not worth it for some other outfit to come all the way here just for one load.’
‘The guy couldn’t haul it himself?’
‘They had all sold their trucks. No need for them, as far as they could see, because of the contracts, and they needed the money for mortgages anyway.’
‘The guy could have rented. One time only.’
‘He wouldn’t have gotten out of his gate. The fine print said only a Duncan truck could haul anything off a farm. No way to contest it, not in court, and definitely not on the ground, because the football players were on the scene by then. The first generation. They must be old men themselves by now.’
‘Total control,’ Reacher said.
Vincent nodded.
‘And very simple,’ he said. ‘You can work all year, but you need your harvest trucked away, or it’s the same thing as sitting on your butt and growing nothing. Farmers live season to season. They can’t afford to lose a whole crop. The Duncans found the perfect pinch-point. Whether by accident or design, I don’t really know. But as soon as they realized what they had, they sure started enjoying it.’
‘How?’
‘Nothing real bad. People pay a little over the odds, and they mind their manners. That’s about all, really.’
‘You too, right?’
Vincent nodded again. ‘This place needed some fixing, ten years ago. The Duncans loaned me the money, interest free, if I signed up with them for my deliveries.’
‘And you’re still paying.’
‘We’re all still paying.’
‘Why sit still and take it?’
‘You want a revolution? That’s not going to happen. People have got to eat. And the Duncans are smart. No one thing is really that bad. You understand?’
‘Like a frog in warm water,’ Reacher said. ‘That’s how the doctor’s wife described it to me.’
‘That’s how we all describe it.’
‘You still get boiled to death in the end.’
‘Long time coming.’ Vincent turned away and filled a mug with coffee. Another NASA logo. He pushed it across the bar. He said, ‘My mother was related to Neil Armstrong.
Reacher said, ‘Start at the beginning.’
Vincent said, ‘The beginning is a long time ago.’
‘It always is.’
‘They’re an old family.’
‘They always are.’
‘The first one I knew was old man Duncan. He was a farmer, from a long line of farmers. I guess the first one came here on a land grant. Maybe after the Civil War. They grew corn and beans and built up a big acreage. The old man inherited it all. He had three sons, Jacob, Jasper, and Jonas. It was an open secret that the boys hated farming. But they kept the place going until the old man died. So as not to break his heart. Then they sold up. They went into the trucking business. Much less work. They split up their place and sold it off to their neighbours. Which made sense all around. What was a big spread back in the days of horses and mules wasn’t so big any more, with tractors and all, and economies of scale. Land prices were high back then, but the boys sweetened the deals. They gave discounts, if their neighbours signed up to use Duncan Transportation to haul away their harvests. Which again made sense all around. Everyone was getting what they wanted. Everyone was happy.’
‘Until?’
‘Things went sour kind of slowly. There was a dispute with one of the neighbours. Ancient history now. This was twenty-five years ago, probably. But it was an acrimonious situation. It festered all one summer, and then that guy didn’t get his crophauled away. The Duncans just wouldn’t do it. It rotted on the ground. The guy didn’t get paid that year.’
‘He couldn’t find someone else to haul it?’
‘By then the Duncans had the county all sewn up. Not worth it for some other outfit to come all the way here just for one load.’
‘The guy couldn’t haul it himself?’
‘They had all sold their trucks. No need for them, as far as they could see, because of the contracts, and they needed the money for mortgages anyway.’
‘The guy could have rented. One time only.’
‘He wouldn’t have gotten out of his gate. The fine print said only a Duncan truck could haul anything off a farm. No way to contest it, not in court, and definitely not on the ground, because the football players were on the scene by then. The first generation. They must be old men themselves by now.’
‘Total control,’ Reacher said.
Vincent nodded.
‘And very simple,’ he said. ‘You can work all year, but you need your harvest trucked away, or it’s the same thing as sitting on your butt and growing nothing. Farmers live season to season. They can’t afford to lose a whole crop. The Duncans found the perfect pinch-point. Whether by accident or design, I don’t really know. But as soon as they realized what they had, they sure started enjoying it.’
‘How?’
‘Nothing real bad. People pay a little over the odds, and they mind their manners. That’s about all, really.’
‘You too, right?’
Vincent nodded again. ‘This place needed some fixing, ten years ago. The Duncans loaned me the money, interest free, if I signed up with them for my deliveries.’
‘And you’re still paying.’
‘We’re all still paying.’
‘Why sit still and take it?’
‘You want a revolution? That’s not going to happen. People have got to eat. And the Duncans are smart. No one thing is really that bad. You understand?’
‘Like a frog in warm water,’ Reacher said. ‘That’s how the doctor’s wife described it to me.’
‘That’s how we all describe it.’
‘You still get boiled to death in the end.’
‘Long time coming.’ Vincent turned away and filled a mug with coffee. Another NASA logo. He pushed it across the bar. He said, ‘My mother was related to Neil Armstrong.
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