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Harold Caldwell’s secretary ushered A
“Mr. Caldwell,” A
“Miss Talbot. Have a seat.”
A
“You know the purpose of this meeting, Miss Talbot,” he finally said. “I’ve already told you most of what you need to hear over the phone, but there are several documents that you must sign, and also the matter of your brother’s confinement. Where shall we begin?”
“I’d like to get my brother out of jail.”
“Do you have fifty thousand dollars?” Caldwell asked, raising his brows inquiringly.
“No, but I thought bail could be arranged through a bondsman. Isn’t that the usual practice?”
Caldwell frowned. “It’s been difficult to find a bondsman to put up the money. Your brother is regarded as a flight risk.”
“What?” A
Caldwell stared at her. “Apparently you aren’t aware that when Tim was arrested several months ago for writing bad checks to a casino, he fled the jurisdiction.”
A
“You haven’t been in close touch with your brother, have you?” Caldwell asked gently.
“No. Not lately. He avoids talking to me when he’s having... difficulties.”
“Well, he’s having very severe difficulties now. Unless you can come up with the cash to foot his bail, he will probably remain where he is.”
“I live in an apartment in New York, Mr. Caldwell, so I don’t have equity in a home or other property to mortgage. I have a few thousand in savings and that’s it.”
“Your writing career is not lucrative?”
“I’ve just begun it, Mr. Caldwell. I was a researcher for a publishing house before I started writing. Now I’m working on my third book and my first one just came out late last year. Royalties take a long time to arrive and the advances from the publisher are just enough to live on in the meantime.”
“Excuse me for being so personal, Miss Talbot, but your father was a very wealthy man. He left you nothing at all?”
“I wanted nothing, and he knew that. He left everything, the business and his real estate holdings, and all of his investments, to Tim.”
“And you didn’t even supervise your brother’s actions?”
A
“But you must have known about your brother’s problem,” the lawyer insisted.
“I felt that it was his business,” A
Caldwell shrugged. “I told you most of it on the phone, as I said. ScriptSoft is insolvent, the people on the board of directors are suing your brother for mismanagement, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to prosecute him for stock fraud.”
“Is there any good news?”
Caldwell sighed. “Not much. A fresh infusion of several million dollars would save the day, allowing the present management to pay the company’s debts, trim the staff, sell off the stagnant real estate and reorganize. Short of that, the bankruptcy court will take over to portion out the meager assets to the creditors, most of whom won’t get very much because little is left.”
“What about Tim?”
“If he can’t make bail, he will remain in jail until his trial and then he will probably be convicted and do ten to fifteen years.”
“What happens if he pleads guilty to a lesser charge? Won’t that help?”
“He’s still likely to do time. The courts are cracking down on these manipulators. I’m afraid the eighties are catching up with us. I’m sorry.”
A
“He was very clever, Miss Talbot. He inflated the stock, sold it off high and progressively drained the company. He owned the majority of the stock and as the controlling interest he had a free hand. By the time the board figured out what he was up to, it was too late. I assume from what you’ve just said that you were never informed or consulted about his management policies.”
“No. I owned the stock but never paid attention to the value of it. When the reports came in I threw them in a drawer.”
“Because there was bad blood between you and your father?” Caldwell asked.
“Yes,” A
“I remember Henry Talbot,” the lawyer mused. “He was an astute businessman, very active in this community. I played in golf tournaments with him from time to time. He had to take it easy even then— his heart was never very good.”
A
“I must say I’m very sorry to see his company come to this. It was once very prosperous, and your mother one of Port Lisbon’s leading hostesses. She was a lovely lady and I was saddened to hear of her death.”
“Thank you.”
“Cancer?”
“Yes.”
“Did she suffer long?”
“It seemed long.”
“What a shame. She was so young.”
There was a tap on Caldwell’s door and A
“What is it?” A
“I can’t believe this,” Caldwell said, shaking his head. “You have a visitor, Miss Talbot. A benefactor who read about ScriptSoft’s impending bankruptcy and Tim’s arrest in the Miami newspapers. He says he is willing to refinance the company and pay your brother’s bail in the bargain.”
“What?” A
The door opened behind Caldwell and standing before her was Heath Bodine.
Chapter 2
A
“Hello, A
A
He was wearing brown pants with a beige, raw silk sweater and the same type of leather moccasins he had favored as a youth. His dusky skin was ta
“Heath told my secretary that he is an old friend of yours,” Caldwell said. “I imagine you have a lot to catch up on so I’ll leave you two alone. A
The lawyer was gone before A
“Are you the benefactor Mr. Caldwell mentioned?” she finally managed to whisper.
“I am.”
“Is this some kind of cruel joke? Why on earth would you want to help me?”
“I have my reasons.”