Lisa Gardner - Touch & Go

“What did you do?” asked Special Agent Adams.

“Informed her of the facts of life. What had happened had happened, and there was nothing she could do about it now. Then I told her to go home and stay there. No returning to this building, no yelling at travel agents. This was her parents’ business, not hers.”

“And how did she take that?”

“Glared at me mutinously.” Anita rolled her eyes. “Teenage girls,” she murmured again.

“Did she return?”

“Not that I heard of. It’s possible. I also informed her that if I saw her again, I’d tell her mother. Libby didn’t deserve that kind of added stress, and Ashlyn knew it. The girl is loyal to her mother. She’s just…hurt. Fathers aren’t supposed to be human, you know, especially not the ones who’ve raised their girls to be Daddy’s little princesses.”

“Sounds to me that family was still going through a rough patch.” Special Agent Adams, clearly fishing.

The COO shrugged, not taking the bait.

Wyatt’s question was more direct. “Talk to us about divorce. Date night doesn’t do the trick, Libby decides to go ahead and hire a lawyer. What happens to the family firm?”

For a change, Anita seemed genuinely perplexed. “I… I don’t know. Justin is the sole shareholder. He was wealthy when he first met Libby, so there may be a prenup. If not, I would assume she’d be entitled to fifty percent of their assets, which would include fifty percent of the business.”

“Hefty price to pay for an active social life,” Tessa said dryly.

“Do the crime, serve the time,” Anita answered just as succinctly.

“You think Justin would be willing to part with half his firm?” Wyatt again, his tone patient but probing.

“I don’t… I can’t answer that.”

Which Tessa personally took to mean no. Protect the boss, that seemed to be Denbe Construction’s standard operating procedure. Meaning if they weren’t answering a question, there was something they didn’t want you to hear.

“And if he dies?” Wyatt again, tone still even. “If Justin Denbe isn’t found alive…?”

“I would assume the company reverts to his surviving family. First Libby, then Ashlyn.”

“And in the event they’re dead, too?”

That guarded look again. “I would think there is some kind of provision in Justin’s will. You should follow up with his lawyer, Austin Ferland. He’d know.”

“What about the employees?” Special Agent Adams. “In the event that the entire Denbe family died, would there be an opportunity for, say, the core management team to purchase the company?”

Anita’s gaze definitely sliding sideways…

“Ever try to buy in before?” Wyatt, piling on. “After all, hundred-mil company, you got thirty-five years of blood, sweat and tears tied up into it. Why should Justin have all the glory?”

“We would never try to take over—”

“Not saying take over. Just…buy in. Happens. Hardworking employees get to become profit-worthy shareholders. Ever approach Justin? Raise the question?”

“Once.” She said the word grudgingly. “Cash flow was tight. Some of us, myself included, offered to invest into the company in exchange for an ownership stake.”

“Define others?” Special Agent Adams, clearly intrigued by this line of questioning.

“Myself, Chris Lopez, Ruth Chan. It was a win-win proposition. Doesn’t matter, though. Justin declined. He felt the company could weather the economic downturn, which it did.”

“Except, you still didn’t have an equity stake to benefit from its hundred-million-dollar success.”

“Our bonuses were particularly large that year,” Anita replied curtly.

But even Tessa could read between those lines. A bonus wasn’t the same as ownership. Clearly, Justin Denbe didn’t share his toys. Which already made Tessa wonder what he’d do in the event of a divorce. If he wasn’t willing to share the company with his most trusted management team, would he really share it with his jilted ex-wife?

“Besides,” Anita continued, “I wouldn’t include myself as a prospective buyer anymore. In the last few years, there’s been a shift in the industry. We’re a design-and-build firm, and unfortunately for us, the future of institutional construction seems to be companies that can design, build and operate. For example, a fully turnkey company that designs, builds, then runs the senior care facility on behalf of the state. Justin himself doesn’t believe this mega model will last. He’s convinced that, eventually, the operating costs of running these facilities will overextend the private firms just as much as it did the government agencies. Or, perhaps more prophetically, there will be some kind of scandal—an escape at a major prison, a death at a senior home—that will cause public backlash toward private handling of public institutions. But, in the meantime, given the number of jobs on which we’ve recently been outbid…” The COO thinned her lips, stopped talking.

“Tensions are high?” Special Agent Adams asked.

“We have the necessary cash reserves,” Anita replied, which Tessa took to mean that tensions were very high, and in fact, the future of Justin’s hundred-million-dollar firm wasn’t so certain after all. Interesting. If memory served, just an hour ago, in the conference room, the COO had stated emphatically that Justin had no angst over the future of the company and all was well on the corporate front. Now, suddenly the future wasn’t so bright, and here was a thought—Justin’s disappearance/untimely demise might allow for a significant change in corporate direction, possibly even save a sinking ship. Seemed like the column for winners in the event of Justin Denbe’s death was steadily racking up names.

“However,” Anita said abruptly, as if she’d read Tessa’s mind, “even if this firm ceased to exist, most people around here would survive just fine. There are old-timers”—she used the word dryly—“such as myself, who’ve logged enough of the good years, stuffing our mattresses. As for the younger guys, Chris and his crew, most of them could easily find a similar job at a rival firm with very little fuss. At the end of the day, this is all just…business.” Anita waved her hand. “And what about a day’s work is worth harming someone over?”

Good question, Tessa thought, and yet people got killed over money and business transactions all the time.

“Would you like to know the true paradox of the Denbe male?” Anita asked abruptly.

“By all means,” Tessa assured her.

“They may not be faithful, but they are loyal. Dale loved Mary. Justin, from everything I’ve ever seen, loves his wife, too. He would never choose divorce. And he would certainly never do anything to harm his family. Especially not Ashlyn. Dear God… I mean, maybe if only Libby were missing, some of your questions would make more sense. But you can ask anyone, everyone… Justin Denbe would never harm a hair on his daughter’s head. And if you understand that most of us here have watched Ashlyn grow up before our eyes… We’d never harm her, either. Whatever has happened…we’re not the problem. Justin’s not the problem.”

“Then who is?” Tessa couldn’t help herself.

“I don’t know. The kind of person who is heartless enough to attack an entire family. I mean, why?”

“Question of the day,” Tessa assured her. Personal or professional. Ransom or revenge?

“There is, maybe…one last thing.”

They glanced at Anita expectantly. “Last time I saw Libby was several weeks ago. She came in to sign some forms. She seemed…off. Actually, I had a flashback to Mary Denbe and her four-martini lunches. Except, Libby didn’t smell like alcohol.”