"Touch on it all that you like," Mason replied, "It's no secret, especially to those who were that Alders and I did some sort of deal with Steelgrave to buy the stageline. I wouldn't be surprised if half the town knew already."
He gave a half laugh, "Why he really wanted to help us out is still a mystery to me. Maybe it was as he said it was...just a way to get back at Buller but I don't know. In fact, it's hard to say what goes on in the mind of someone like Elias Steelgrave."
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"Every town needs a newspaper."
Phin laughed, "I 'spose you're right. The man has done a number of mind numbing things since I've been in Kalispell. And we may never really know what he was thinking, but beating Buller out of it? That could have been enough." Rationalizing anything that Elias Steelgrave did would just be crazy making. "The fact that he has yet to do something about this hospital has me a bit worried now about when he will."
"That worries me as well, he can be unpredictable, as he demonstrated with the Milligan sale," Leah said. "He may do nothing at all. I'm sure he realizes the need for the hospital, given that he had a heart attack recently." Leah admitted, "Or, he could have his men try to burn it to the ground, your guess is as good as mine. But I want to get it finished and opened for the people that need it!"
"Every town needs a newspaper."
"The hard part might be getting the chance to interview the elusive Mister Steelgrave." Phin said, "Going out to the Everegreen might not be the healthiest tack to take. But then catching him in town is nigh onto impossible, he's here so seldom."
"I don't think he would do anything to harm you. He would know that we here in town would know that you had gone out there. Besides, you want an interview with him, and he likes to be the center of attention, and an interview in the paper would go to a lot of people." Leah told him, "And, it is an opportunity for him to make himself look good to all of your readers. What do you think, Mason? I mean, I believe that it would be safe enough."
Mason sighed, "Well, it's probably about the only safest thing we can get him to do. It's when you deal with him behind closed doors it becomes a problem. Without witnesses or nothing in writing to back you up, then it's your word against his. When you consider how deep his pockets are and the right amount of money to the right people can make things very favourable for him."
Taking out his pocket watch, Mason noted the time, "However, right now our safest bet is to get this hospital up and running before he changes his mind and decides to do something to stop it. Tearing down the hospital once it is operational won't win him any friends and would probably make him more unpopular than he already is."
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"Every town needs a newspaper."
"The idea is for an interview about the town and him, now that he is a business owner. The hospital is part of the town, so without criticizing him and sticking to the interview basing most of the questing on the safety of our streets, I think maybe it'll have the right flavor for him. Make him look like Mister Big, which i know that he hankers for."
"You know him pretty well, Phin." Leah said with a smile. "Getting our hospital up and running is the focus, and the sooner the better. I'd like the grand opening to coincide with this Founder's Day thing people are talking about, and believe that it is possible by July fourth to be up and running."
