Looking For You All My Life Part 73

relieved Maggie considerably, and she leaned back into her

chair and relaxed a little, waiting to see how this smooth-

-talking developer from California planned to convince them

otherwise. She hoped folks would remain dubious, remem-

bering Greg and Rick's questionable methods for attaining

the ir land. The townspeople were smart. Surely they couldn't

be persuaded by a charlatan, no matter how good-looking

e was!

Cohn continued. "Now, I understand that I've gotten

bad press up here." He laughed lightly. "Well, that's

ot surprising because I've gotten some bad press down in

me 116Melody Carlson

California too. But I'd like the chance to explain a few

things. I'm sure you all believe that a man should be allowed

to defend himself-after all, isn't a man still innocent until

proven guilty? Anyway, it just so happens that land devel-

opment is a highly compet.i.tive business, especially where I

come from. It's a real dog-eat-dog world down there. And

there are those who will resort to anything to discredit a

man's reputation. But I'm not a spiteful person, and most of

the time I don't fight back. I allow the success of my devel-

opments to speak for itself. Now, if you'll allow me-Rick

you will want to get that video going now-and Greg,

maybe you'd like to dim the lights. We'll let the good folks

of Pine Mountain judge me for themselves.

Maggie sat up straighter to see the big-screen TV set up

in the front. The room grew quiet as they all watched a very

slick video, complete with soft cla.s.sical music and some

well-written narrative, that proudly displayed all the so-

called amenities of a few of Cohn Byers' developments.

There were long, lingering shots of crystal-clear pools, lush

green golf courses, lovely-looking homes with perfect land-

scaping, and interiors that were decorated to the hilt, and

throughout the video were lots of smiling, attractive people

-(probably actors). It was all quite convincing, and for a

moment Maggie wondered if she might not have been all

wrong about him. But then she wondered what it was that

he wasn't showing. Having been a reporter, she knew that

what you read or saw was only part of the whole picture and

could sometimes be very misleading. It was what wasn't said

that could make all the difference, and she wasn't convinced.

The lights came back on and people quietly commented

among themselves. It was obvious that many had been

impressed by Cohn Byers' tricks. Next he invited their ques-

tions. To her delight, many asked the very questions that she

had posed in her previous articles. Queries were made about

the longevity of management plans, use of quality construc-

tion materials, legal labor practices, and whether local

workers might bid for contracts themselves. Cohn Byers Looking for You All My Life 117 -

smoothly and graciously fielded each and every question