21
Stone and the Eagles
moved toward the garden restaurant, where a buffet dinner had been
set up. He saw Prince and Arrington a few steps ahead of them. Then
someone behind him tapped Stone on the shoulder. He turned to find
Rick and Glenna Barron. He greeted them warmly.
“Just the man I
wanted to see,” Stone said.
“What can I do for
you, Stone?”
“I’m wondering what,
if anything, you’ve found out about the disposition of Jennifer
Harris’s shares in Centurion.”
“I know her attorney,
and I spoke to him, so I know that her will leaves the shares to
her estate, instead of a particular beneficiary.”
“Does her attorney
have the authority to sell them on behalf of the estate?” Stone
asked.
“Yes, and I think he
would be amenable to the sale, as long as it brought market value.
Unfortunately, he knows about the offer from Mr. Prince, so he will
want at least what Prince has offered.”
“Are you going to buy
them?” Stone asked.
“I’m afraid that’s a
bit of a stretch for me, financially,” Rick replied. “I might be
able to swing it, but I’d have to sell some other investments, and
that would take time we don’t have.”
Stone looked around,
then lowered his voice. “I think it might be possible for Arrington
to buy them,” he said.
“That would be
perfect,” Rick replied. “What with Charlene Joiner’s shares, that
would give us a majority.”
“Surely Prince would
be bidding for them, too,” Stone said.
“And if he got them,
he’d have a majority,” Rick pointed out.
“I think what we have
to do,” Stone said, “is canvas all the other share owners and see
if we can buy another bloc or two that would give us fifty-one
percent.”
“Let me talk to some
of them and see if they would rather sell to us than
Prince.”
“It would be in their
interests, wouldn’t it, to keep the studio operating as it is
now?”
“Certainly, for some
of them who want to continue to make pictures. I’ll start on that
tomorrow morning and get back to you.” Rick looked around. “In
fact, I’ve seen a couple of them here tonight; perhaps I’ll get an
opportunity to speak to them.”
“Good idea,” Stone
said. “Face-to-face might work best.”
They worked their way
through the line for dinner, and Stone found a large table.
Arrington left Prince and rejoined him.
“What did you think
of Mr. Prince?” Stone asked her.
“Oh, he’s charming,”
she said. “I knew he would be. I wouldn’t trust him any farther
than I could throw him, though.”
“What good instincts
you have,” Stone said, laughing. “I was in line with Rick and
Glenna Barron, and he’s going to talk with some of the other
shareholders about our buying their shares. I think we’ve got a
shot at this, starting with those owned by Jennifer Harris’s
estate.”
“If you say so,”
Arrington said. “As long as I don’t have to sell other
securities.”
“Something I think
you should do,” Stone said, “is to take up the option on the four
acres adjoining your property here. I think that addition would
make your acreage much more valuable.”
“Vance got those
options just before he died,” Arrington said. “There are two
parcels of one point eight and two point two acres, both with very
nice houses on them. The owners are elderly and would probably like
to move into some sort of assisted facilities. The prices are very
good, too, given the appreciation of real estate in this
neighborhood. I’d have to pay, let’s see, about eighteen million
for the two.”
“When do the options
expire?” Stone asked.
“Quite soon, I think;
I’m not certain of the date.”
“We’ll get Woodman
& Weld on that tomorrow,” Stone said. “We don’t want to miss
this opportunity.”
Dino came and sat
down at their table. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier,”
he said, “but I talked to Sergeant Rivera this afternoon, and he’s
going to arrest Prince’s driver tomorrow.”
“What for?” Arrington
asked.
“For the murder of
Jennifer Harris,” Dino replied.
“We think Prince had
her killed to get hold of her shares,” Stone said.
“Prince plays that
rough?” Arrington asked.
“We believe
so.”
“Should I be
worried?”
“No, harming you
wouldn’t help him. Your shares would go into the trust for Peter,
and I’ll be his trustee. The Woodman & Weld trust department is
already working on the documents.”
Arrington took a deep
breath and let it out. “That’s a relief,” she said.
“Also, having his
driver in jail and maybe talking is going to make Prince more
circumspect in his actions,” Stone said. “He won’t be able to pull
that again. In fact, if the driver talks, that could solve all our
problems. Prince wouldn’t be starting a big new development, if he
were looking at a trial and possible conviction.”
“If that happens, can
we go to the trial?” Arrington asked.
Stone laughed. “I’ll
see if I can get tickets.”