Chapter 14

It was good to be home, back at my refuge from the world. But relaxing and pursuing solitary activities wasn't on the schedule. My first morning back, after tai chi and breakfast, Sable corralled me to discuss the venture capital business. We sat in my office.

"Tell me the good news first," I said.

She smiled. "The news is mostly good. Sams Gallery of Fine Art will have its grand opening Friday night. You and I and our guests are invited."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," I said.

"The construction of the two local restaurants is on time and within budget."
"That's a surprise," I said.

"Why?"

"Restaurateurs and budgets aren't compatible by nature."

Sable chuckled. "I think we can attribute the remarkable compatibility of the Burke/Gaunt partnership for the on-time and in-budget construction. They're catering the opening at the art gallery, by the way. Moving ahead, the trucking company is trucking along as outlined in their business plan."

"That surprises me, too," I said.

"Why?"

"I thought they'd do better than planned."

She laughed. "Actually, they are. Duke called. He has an amendment to the plan he wants us to review."

"How many more trucks does he want to add?"

"Ten."

"Do it."

"Don't you... ?"

"No, I don't want to dally with this one. His original plan was conservative – too conservative. Ten more trucks will increase the bottom line by 30%."

"You've done the numbers?"

"Yes."

She grinned. "Okay. You're the boss."

He's amazing, she thought. Always ahead of me, ahead of our partners. And Loni says he's exceptional in bed. Stop it! If you start thinking about sex now, you'll need to hunt up Greg and jump his bones again.

"What about the office-condo development company?" I said.

"They've got a problem, but it can be easily solved. They need a new architect. The architect they were using was killed in a car accident."

"Their architect was an employee. Will they consider using an independent architect?" I said.

"As a point of fact, that's their preference," Sable said.

After this meeting, I think I'll hunt up Greg anyway. We've got some bone jumping to make up for, Sable mused silently.

"Leah's fiancé is an architect," I said. "I haven't seen any of his work. And I don't know if designing small office buildings would appeal to him, but please check with him, Sable. If he's interested, put him with Frank Camp."

Camp was the CEO of the condo development company.

Why didn't I think of that? Sable asked herself.

"Will do," she said.

"What's the schedule for taking that company public?"

"The schedule hasn't changed. Next week, Camp is meeting with the investment banker you recommended in New York."

"How's their bottom line?" I said.

"Better than projected by 20%," Sable said.

"That being the case, there might be a better way to go. They could do a reverse merger with a shell company already listed with the SEC, but a company that is not currently trading. They'd start in the OTCBB exchange, and then use the investment banker to put together an offering that would place them in the Nasdaq. It'll cost less this way and cut down the time needed to go public." I grinned. "Just a suggestion, mind you."

"I understand what you're saying, sort of, but..."

"Sable, don't try to become an expert on taking a company public. That's not what we do. Hire honest experts and listen to them." I handed her a slip of paper. "This man can help Camp locate a shell company and guide him through process. Talk to that expert before you talk to Camp, and then put the two of them in the same room. If my suggestion isn't workable, no harm, no foul, and Camp can proceed as currently planned."

She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "You're the boss."
Earlier when Sable walked into my office at the start of our meeting, she'd put a stack of business plans on the corner of my desk. I nodded toward them and said, "Potential new business?"

"Yes."

I sighed. "All right, I'll try to wade through them over the next few days. If you had to pick one of them, which one would you select?"

"Fantasy Fun, Inc.," she said. "A couple of computer geeks and a graphic artist led by an able businessman. They're into computer games."

I grinned. "Really?"

"Yep."

"Okay, I'll read that one first. How much capital are they seeking?"

"$1,000,000, barely enough for us to take a look."

"I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that they've underestimated their capital needs," I said.

She laughed gaily. "No bet. My notes on the plan state that they'll need $3,000,000 more for marketing. It's a $5,000,000 deal, Clint."

"How much of the company will they give up for the venture capital?"

"30%."

"I'll want half for the $5,000,000."

She nodded. That's doable, she thought.

"Now, let's talk about your wedding."

"Huh?"

"Have you and Greg set a date?"

I knew about their dilemma by experiencing Greg's thoughts during the trip. Neither Greg nor Sable was happy about the situation.

"No. Greg disappeared Hal. That makes Hal a missing person, which means I'm still married. It'll be years before I can have Hal declared legally dead and marry Greg. Greg checked with your legal-beagles. They told him the family of a missing person couldn't initiate proceedings to declare the missing person dead until three years after the person went missing. There are exceptions to this rule, but I can't use the exceptions because I don't want Anterra to know about me. If I marry Greg, legally I'll be a bigamist."

"As Robyn Carson, yes. As Sable Darcy, no," I said. "What you've got to ask yourself, Sable, is how important is it for you to be Robyn Carson again. Is inheriting Carson's estate more important than..."

"No!" she shouted, interrupting me.

"Well, hell, marry Greg as Sable Darcy then," I said. "If later you decide to go through the messy process of declaring Carson legally dead, go for it, and marry Greg again as Robyn Carson. Don't let the creep you married foul up the rest of your life."

Her thoughts bounced around like a yo-yo. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet, some papers in her lap fluttering to the floor.

"Excuse me, boss. I've got to talk to Greg."

I heard imaginary wedding bells as she dashed from the room.

Later that morning, while I was reading the business plan for Fantasy Fun, Inc., Greg came to my office. I thought he'd look happy. He didn't.

"Got some bad news, boss," he said.

"What?"

"Harlan Garfield is looking for you. In fact, he's probably found you."

"Probably?"

"Yeah, don't know for sure. He sweeps his place weekly for bugs. We lost electronic surveillance before we heard about the results of his search. We've got to assume he knows who and what and where you are by now. He didn't go looking for you, boss. He went looking for Zane. He hired a private detective to canvass the better stores in Manhattan. Garfield got your name from someone who worked at the restaurant where you tangled with him. Then he gave the detective your name and told him if Zane was with you that you probably bought some clothes or jewelry for her. He said that the sales clerks in the stores probably wouldn't remember you, but they'd remember Zane. He told the detective to bribe some store clerks for copies of the sales slips related to anything purchased for Zane. Boss, you used credit cards to pay for those purchases. Garfield has the wherewithal to take it from there and determine who you are and where you live. Then he'll hire a different specialist to compile a dossier."

The problem was larger than Greg realized. The true strength of the validity of my newest identity was about to be tested.

"Did surveillance determine the reason Garfield initiated the search?" I said.

"It did. You pegged him when you told me to put him under surveillance. He's pissed. Big time. He ended up in the hospital. He didn't lose a testicle, but it was close. He doesn't want to get even; he wants to get ahead. Boss, I wouldn't be surprised if he hired someone to kill you."

"Fuck," I breathed.

"Yeah, my sentiments exactly. Accordingly, please don't leave Refuge without me with you, and if possible, Frank will go with us as your driver, and I'll ride shotgun."

I nodded. "Hire another driver. We need another one for Loni, anyway."

"Will do. Besides another driver, I think you should buy an armored car."

I frowned. "Isn't there a long lead time to get a vehicle armored?"

"Yes, up to two years, but I've located a used armored Mercedes sedan for sale. It's ready for immediate delivery. We could have it here by the end of next week."

"Buy it," I said.

"Boss, if Garfield wants you bad enough, he'll take Loni to get to you. He might take her anyway. He's as angry with her as he is with you."

"Makes sense. Has she been told?"

"No." He sighed. "Got another problem with Loni."

I waited.

"Anterra knows she's in Gold Canyon. Doesn't know where in Gold Canyon and doesn't know about you, but..."

"How the hell did he find that out?"

"Sometime before she left Colorado, Loni engaged a search firm to place her in a job. The firm, more specifically a man named..." He checked his notes. " ... Bill Wainwright with the search firm located two potential jobs for her, one in L.A. and the other in New York City. Anterra's enquiries about her whereabouts in Colorado uncovered the search firm and Wainwright. Anterra's man bribed Wainwright, who evidentially isn't too happy with Loni because Loni cancelled her interviews in L.A. and New York and told him to find her a job in the Phoenix area."

"The Phoenix area isn't Gold Canyon," I said.

"Loni told Wainwright she was in love with a man who lived in Gold Canyon – the reason for changing her job specifications."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"Has Anterra discounted the robbery motive?"

"No. He's just being thorough."

"That's a relief."

"Boss, if Anterra finds Loni here, he might also stumble on Mrs. Hal Carson's current whereabouts. If he does, he'd probably change his mind about the robbery motive."

"There's that. What do we have on Anterra?"

"Quite a bit, but none of it is admissible in court."

"To hell with that. Give everything we have to the DEA anyway. Also the Houston Police. We'll become an anonymous informant. From what we give them, the authorities can build their own case using evidence that will be admissible. Let's make him so busy trying to defend himself that he'll forget about Loni and Sable."

For the first time since Greg entered my office, he smiled. "I can do that," he said.

"And wire Garfield for sound again. We need intel, Greg. Garfield is dirty. SEC violations if nothing else. Let's put him on the defense, too. Tell our surveillance specialist in Houston to get creative. They have listening equipment available to them we can't even imagine."

"I'll do that, too. Should I call Loni in now?"

"Yes." I paused. "No, first, have you and Sable set a date?"

Greg grinned. "Yep. December 15^th, a Christmas wedding."

"That's surprising. Most women want more time to plan a wedding," I said.

"Sable says she's been there, done that. She wants to be Mrs. Greg Benton more than she wants a big wedding."

"Good for her, and congratulations, Greg. I want nothing for both of you except happiness."

My smile faded and I grimaced.

Greg sighed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'll go get Loni."

At first, Loni was upset, principally because her past had put me in danger. Then she got pissed. A little chunk of Zane that Loni had tamped down deep rose up and surfaced. Although only a small part of Zane emerged, I could imagine an entire Zane angry, not a little chunk. What a sight to behold that would be! Carl Charney could not have known a truly angry Zane. If he had, the sleaze would have never threatened her with disfigurement.

I grinned at Loni and said, "I didn't think it possible, but red-hot anger enhances your beauty."

Loni took a deep breath, tamped down that chunk of Zane that had temporarily ascended, took another deep breath, and said, "Tell me what you plan to do about this mess. I know you, Clint. You have a plan."

"We're turning over what we know about Anterra's illegal activities to the DEA and the Houston Police with the hope that they'll jump on him like he's a trampoline and keep him bouncing so he'll ignore you. We're reinstating electronic surveillance on Garfield to find out his plans, which we will then circumvent or use against him. Garfield is dirty. He used insider information once, so he probably used it before the time we know about, and he'll use it again, and if he committed one illegal act, he has and will commit others. When he does, we'll sic the Justice Department on him or whatever authority will prosecute whatever crime he commits."

"Both efforts will take time," Loni said. "What do we do in the interim?"

"Increase security here with another armed driver for you," I said. "I'd planned to do that anyway. We're also buying an armored car to go out and about the city. We'll be careful, Loni, more careful than before, but we will go on with our lives. Did Wainwright set up an appointment for you with a counseling firm in the Phoenix area?"

"Don't know. I haven't spoken with the snake in the grass yet."

"When did you say you would call him?"

"When I returned to Arizona."

"Did you give him an estimate when that would happen?"

"He said he'd try to line up appointments for me toward the end of this week."

"It's Tuesday. Call him tomorrow."

"I'll call him names. That's about it. I won't do business with that pig."

"Got to," I said. "If you don't, Anterra will find out that you know he got to Wainwright."

"Thursday would be better, boss," Greg said. "That would give us more time for the DEA and the cops to put Anterra on the defensive."

"The authorities won't react that quickly, Greg," I said and turned back to Loni. "But waiting until Thursday couldn't hurt. Loni, Anterra is a threat but the threat can be managed. We have him under surveillance. We should know his plans before or at the moment he puts them into motion. Plus, he doesn't see you as anything but a potential source of information. What we must avoid regarding Anterra is revealing the whereabouts of Sable. If he finds out Robyn Carson is alive and well and living as Sable Darcy at Refuge with her sister, the threat from him will become infinitely larger and more difficult to deal with."

"All right, I'll call Wainwright on Thursday," she said.

"And make nice with him during the call," I said.

"I don't know if I'm that good of an actor," she said.

"Pretend you're Zane again," I said.

She laughed. "That'd work."

"Also, don't accept an appointment until mid-week next week," I said.

Loni nodded. "Then I should call him today, pretend I'm still out of the country and tell him to set up the appointments next week, not this week."

"Good thinking," Greg said.

"About Sable, Greg, I don't think she should leave the compound until the authorities have Anterra busy defending himself," I said.

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