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.”