The Merchant of Menace

completed, the first one fell into a sinkhole. The added weight of the house itself collapsed the ceiling of the cave and the entire house just collapsed into the hole.“
    “Oh, my gosh!“ Jane exclaimed. “Shouldn’t somebody have known there was a big hole under the house?”
    Bruce nodded. “Oh, yes. Nobody in their right mind would build in that part of the country without having a thorough geologic survey done. My dad hired the people, who assured him that it was solid bedrock.“
    “I sense Lance King coming into the story real soon,“ Shelley said.
    “Yep,“ Bruce said. “But it was much worse than just losing the building.“ His expression grew even more bleak. “It happened early in the morning while a woman and her two-month-old baby were in the house asleep. They were both killed. Crushed as the house collapsed.”
    Jane and Shelley tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle their gasps of horror.
    Bruce sighed. “I think my dad would rather it had been him. He nearly had a breakdown when he heard. It was only the old Puritan ethic of facing things down that kept him going. And, of course, that’s where Lance King comes in. He was on his first job out of college, heard about the tragedy, and took out after my dad like a rabid wolverine. He did pieces on him almost every night for a week. Went around to other people Dad had built houses for, scaring them to death, working them all up to say Dad was a murderer—God, it was awful.“
    “Your poor family,“ Jane said softly.
    “Lance knew from the beginning that the responsible party was the geological surveyors. But they were remote, no one local person to blame. Not one upstanding local citizen who was already nearly broken with grief and guilt. He sneaked around, getting unflattering pictures of Dad, showing them on the news, carrying on about the poor innocent baby... Well, you’ve seen him in action here.“
    “To my disgust,“ Shelley said.
    “It made King’s career. And utterly destroyed my father. His reputation went into the hole with the house and people. Somebody...“ He paused and cleared his throat to get the next words out. “Somebody spat at him on the street.”
    Bruce’s voice shook and his eyes shone with tears.
    They were all silent for a moment, trying to absorb the awful humiliation. Finally Shelley asked, “That’s why your family moved here?”
    Bruce pulled out a big, ragged handkerchief and dabbed at his nose and eyes. “Dad had a sister and brother in Chicago. He and Mom moved up here—I finished college in Kentucky and joined them. He intended to start over, but his heart and spirit were broken. He was such a good, good man. When he got here, he had a nervous breakdown, was hospitalized for a while, and his health started failing. He died three years later.“
    “I think my heart is broken, Bruce,“ Jane said.
    He was obviously embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I don’t go around talking about this, but I thought you should know and I’d be glad if you didn’t mention this to anyone else. It’s downright dangerous for Lance King to even know who you are. He’s always on the lookout for someone to destroy. And he’s an expert at it. Makes himself look like a crusader for all that’s right and good while perfectly innocent people have their lives torn to shreds. He killed my father. It was a long, tortured death.“
    “That does it, Shelley. Lance King is pure scum and it would pollute my home to let him in,“ Jane said, knowing she was sounding melodramatic and not caring.
    Shelley said mildly, “It’s going to make him come down on you and Julie, you know.“
    “Shelley, are you saying I’m wrong to take this stand?“
    “Absolutely not. I’d do the same, but you do need to consider the possible consequences.“
    “I don’t care what kind of trouble Julie gets into. It’s her fault to begin with. And there’s nothing he can do to me. I have no dark secrets.“ She smiled. “Sometimes I wish I did. I’d be so much more interesting.“
    “Jane, Bruce’s father didn’t have dark secrets either,“ Shelley reminded her. “There’s nothing to stop Lance King from simply making up something.”
    Jane sat down, deflated. “I know that. But it’s a matter of principle. Bruce is right: Lance King is evil. Deliberately, coldly evil. I couldn’t betray someone as nice as Bruce by letting the man in the house and appearing to approve of him. I’m going to call Julie before I waver.”
    Julie was