Teddy, Tessa, and Ben made their way to the parking lot, Ben still fuming and incredulous.
“What the hell is going on?” Ben Bacchetti wanted to know.
“It’s a hostile takeover, just like I thought.”
“I know that,” Ben said. “I mean, what were you doing in there?”
“I bought us two weeks.”
“We don’t need two weeks—we can take care of the problem now. The guy brought a motion, you could have just voted it down.”
“Then we won’t know what’s going on, or who’s behind all of this. I want to find out who they are and deal with them so it doesn’t happen again.”
“Yes, but as long as we can vote them down . . .”
“They’re a pain in the ass,” Teddy said. “They don’t have a controlling interest, but they are the largest single stockholder.”
“But they’re not a single stockholder,” Ben said. “This guy represents four separate holding companies.”
“And we don’t know who their client is,” Teddy said. “I’m going to find out.”
The young man with the briefcase came out and walked across the lot.
“There’s Todd Reynolds now,” Teddy said. “Go back inside as if this was all a matter of course, and we were just talking business as usual.”
Teddy turned his back on Tessa and Ben and walked across the lot to his car. He hopped in, pulled out of the space reserved for Billy Barnett, and drove past Todd Reynolds, who was walking toward the main gate. Either his car was parked outside the lot or he had come by cab.
Todd Reynolds walked to a small sedan, got in, and drove off. Teddy followed cautiously. The young man didn’t appear to have a clue he was being tailed, but Teddy hadn’t survived this long by taking things for granted.
Todd Reynolds drove downtown and pulled into a lot next to an office building. It was a small lot, and there was no way Teddy could pull in behind him without being spotted.
There was a cop on the corner. Teddy stopped next to him, slapped a Centurion Pictures placard on the dashboard, hopped out, and said, “Watch my car.”
Sometimes it worked. If it didn’t, he’d get a ticket, a towing charge, and a hefty fine, but that was a fair trade-off.
Todd Reynolds had already gone into the building. Teddy hurried to the front door, and through the glass saw Todd Reynolds waiting for the elevator. Unfortunately, so were three other people, so Teddy wouldn’t be able to tell which floor he got off on by watching the indicator.
Teddy whipped out his wallet and opened the door just as the elevator door closed on Todd Reynolds.
Teddy ran up to the front desk. “The young man with the briefcase who just got on the elevator. Where is he going?”
The man at the desk shook his head.
“I know,” Teddy said, “you don’t give out that information. The guy just dropped his wallet.” He held it up. “I tried to catch him, but I’m not as fast as I used to be.”
“You can give it to me. I’ll see that he gets it.”
“I think not,” Teddy said. “I want to give it to him personally, with the money in it so he can see that it’s all there. I’m sure he’ll be grateful.”
“You think he’ll give you a tip,” the guard said.
“And you think he’ll give you one. But you didn’t run two blocks with the damn thing. Come on. You have the register there. Look the guy up and tell me where he works.”
“Let’s see the wallet.”
Teddy smiled. “I’m holding on to it.” He flipped it open, pretending to read the ID. “His name is Todd Reynolds.”
The receptionist at Glendale Management was holding a telephone to her ear. As Teddy approached the desk she said, “Hold, please, for Mr. Dirkson.” She pressed another line and said, “Mr. Dirkson? Mr. Williams on three.” She looked up and smiled at Teddy. “May I help you?”
“Todd Reynolds, please.”
“I’m sorry, he’s not in his office.”
“Oh? That’s odd. I’m supposed to have a meeting with him. If you could ring his cell phone.”
She shook her head. “I can’t disturb him. He’s in with Mr. Dirkson.”
“Perfect. I’m supposed to meet with him, too. It’s this way?” Teddy was already around the desk and making his way to the door marked DIRECTOR.
The receptionist sprang up. “You can’t go in there.”
“Actually, I can,” Teddy said, and pushed the door open.
Todd Reynolds stood talking to a plump man with three chins who was sitting behind a large desk.
“Ah, Mr. Dirkson, I presume. Just the man I wanted to see. Todd said you were the man I wanted to talk to.”
The fat man looked at his subordinate. “Todd?”
“I did no such thing,” Todd sputtered. “This is the man from the meeting. He must have followed me here.”
“You let yourself be followed?” Dirkson said.
Teddy flopped into a chair, pulled a humidor of cigars across the desk, and inspected one. “Don’t blame him. He’s an amateur.” He pointed the cigar at the fat man. “You’re the one to blame, promising your lowlife clients anonymity.”
“Get out of here or I’ll call the police.”
“Good idea. They’ll get some answers. They’ll certainly want to know on whose behalf you’re having me arrested. Do you think you can stand up to a police investigation?”
Dirkson snatched up the phone. “Margo, get me the police.”
Teddy nodded approvingly. “Nicely played. Most men would fold in your position. It’s plain to see you’re a pro. Excellent. I was trying to ascertain how complicit you are in the situation. It’s clear you’re a main participant.”
“Now, see here—”
“No, no,” Teddy said, waggling his finger. “You can’t throw me out and give me a lecture. Pick one.”
The phone rang. Dirkson scooped it up. His eyes never left Teddy. “Yes? . . . No, not now.” He slammed the phone down again. “Are you going to leave of your own accord?”
“Absolutely,” Teddy said. He rose from the chair. “I’m sorry you don’t feel inclined to discuss this amicably. Mr. Reynolds made quite an interesting motion at today’s meeting. I was hoping to learn more about it.”
Dirkson didn’t bite. He just sat there and waited until Teddy left.
Teddy stopped on his way out and smiled at the receptionist. “Did you get through to the police?”
She frowned. “I thought the call was canceled.”
“It’s all right, I’ll call them myself.”
Teddy whipped out his cell phone and began punching in numbers.
The telephone buzzed. The receptionist picked it up and said, “Yes, sir.” She clicked on a line and punched in a number. “Mr. Dirkson for Mr. Kimble. One moment, please.” She picked up the first line. “Mr. Kimble on two.”
Teddy looked up from his cell phone. “Busy,” he said. He shook his head, shrugged, and rang for the elevator.