Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) (17 page)

There was a knock on my door
,
and Tina stepped into my office.

“
Trace, I
’
ve got some bad news. My mom
’
s in
the
hospital over in Seattle. She
’
s had a stroke
, a
pretty bad one
, a
nd I
’
ve got to go. I won
’
t be able to make the trip to the Caymans. I am so sorry.
”

“
Hey, kiddo,
”
I said, giving her a hug
,
“
there’ll
be lot
s
of trips down the road. You just take care of your mother.
”

“
You sure you
’
re not mad?
”

“
No, I
’
m not mad. Listen, we can go to the Caymans anytime you want. And we won
’
t have to listen t
o
Cyrus
t
he Virus.
”

“
The Virus?
”

I laughed
.
“
J
ust a nickname for
one of
our larg
er
shareholder
s
.
”

“
Thanks, Trace,
”
Tina said, wiping her eyes.
“
I
’
m driving to Seattle today. So I
’
ll see you when you get back
?
”

“
You bet
ter believe it,
”
I said, giving her a hug and a kiss.

I e
-
mailed Cyrus and told him
I
’
d be coming to the Caymans solo.
Then I called Wally and Will and put them on the speaker.

“
Fellows, I am driving
to
Spokane tomorrow, spending the night
,
and then flying out early the next day to Grand Cayman. Tina
’
s not going with me. Her mom
’
s had a stroke
and is
in the hospital
over
in Seattle.
”

“
Sorry to hear about her mom, Trace,
”
Will said.

“
Me too, Trace,
”
Wally
added
.
“
Listen, Trace
, let me give you Dominic
’
s contact info.
”

Will whistled softly.

“
Will,
I
’
m not
trying to set him up. Trace
needs to meet Dominic and
give her a heads
-
up
about
Cyrus
. Cyrus
know
s
she was snooping around
,
and i
t could be
dangerous
for her
. I
’
d feel awful if something happened to her.
”

“
It
’
s a good idea, Wally
,
”
I said
.
“
E
-
mail me her co
ntact information
and copy her so she knows I
’
ll be contacting her.
”
I paused a
half
-
beat
.
“
Is she really a ten and a
half
?
”

“
I knew it,
”
Will said
,
with a laugh.

“
Affirmative,
”
Wally replied
,
“
a
nd more.
”

Bill Thorn
ton
flew from Spokane to Vancouver with blank stock powers and a share
-
transfer agreement. He
’
d set a meeting for
10:00
a.m.
at
Rosenburg
’
s
home.

Rosenburg
’
s house was an older Tudor
-
style ho
me
on a
quaint
tree
-
lined street
in North Vancouver
. A
vintage
-
green Jaguar
sat in the circular driveway.
Thorny walked up and knocked on the ornate wooden door.

The man who answered the door stood about six feet two.
Rosenburg looked like what he was,
an athlete gone soft.
He was at least forty pounds overweight
, a
nd t
oo much booze
had
left a
road
map of b
roken capillaries
on his
face
.

“
Mr. Rosenburg, I
’
m
Bill
Thorn
ton
,
”
Thorny said, stepp
ing into the massive
foyer.

“
You represent the Comstock?
”

“
I
’
m associated with the family that controls the casino.
”

“
The
Pantelli
s? Are you in the muscle end?
”

“
No, I
’
m more of an intermediary.
”

“
You look like muscle to me.
”

“
Actually, I look like my father. Can we get past this?
”

Rosenburg nodded
.
“
S
ure, come in
to my study and have a seat. Can I get you a drink
? C
offee?
My wife
’
s in Europe
,
but I can fix you
just
about anything you may care for.
”

“
No, nothing
. T
hank you.
”

“
I
’
m at your service, Mr. Thornton.
”

“
I
’
ll get right to the point,
sir
. Your gambling debt to the Comstock is way overdue. My job is to settle this debt.
”

“
I just need a little more time.
”

“
You have no more time,
sir
.
”

“
Well, I can
’
t just
write
you a check for a million
fucking
dollars.
”

“
It
’
s a million fifty thousand
,
”
Thorny replied, thinking he
’
d make a couple of bucks on the side.

“
What?
”

“
The casino charges interest on overdue balances, just like your credit card.
”

“
That
’
s outrageous
!
”

“
No
sir
, what
’
s outrageous is
owing a million buck
s
to a family like the
Pantelli
s.
”

Rosenburg dropped his shoulders and nodded his head
.
“
Y
es
,
you are quite right about that. Do you have any suggestions on how we might solve this situation
?
”

“
Do you have any assets you could transfer to cover the debt?
”

“
The house is in my wife
’
s name
,
but I do have some shares in a publicly trading mining company.
”

Jackpot
, Thorny thought
.
“
What do the shares trade for?
”

“
Two dollars a share.
But if I sell them all at once
,
to pay you, it
’
ll drive the share price down. Also, I
’
d
be looking at a hell of a capital gains tax bill. Would you be willing to take the shares in kind?
”

“
How many shares do you have?
”

“
Five hundred thousand.
The
c
ompany has a hell of a uranium and gold mine down in Washington State.
”

“
Really?
And c
ould you write me a personal check for the fifty
-
K
of
interest?
”

“
Yes, I could manage that.
”

“
Let me make a quick call
,
”
Thorn
ton
said, getting up from his chair and heading toward the
foyer.
”

Thorny spent a couple
of
minutes pretending to call the
Pantelli
s
and
then walked back into
Rosenburg
’
s
study
.

“
Are the shares here?
”

“
Yes, in
my
desk safe.
”

“
Okay, we
’
ve got a deal. I think I have
a
blank stock
-
power
agreement
in my briefcase.

Rosenburg looked taken aback.
“
You brought
a
stock power with you?
”

“
Don
’
t look so shocked
,
Mr. Rosenburg. This isn
’
t my first rodeo. I c
a
me prepared for any contingency.
”

Rosenburg looked up from opening his desk safe
.
“
Really? Did you come prepared for
this
contingency?
”

Rosenburg pulled a snub
-
nosed .38 from his safe and pointed it at Thorny
’
s chest.

“
This isn
’
t my first rodeo either, Mr. Thorn
ton
.
”

“
You
’
ll never get away with this. The
Pantelli
family will take you off the board along with your entire family.
”

“
I don
’
t think so. I can cut the same deal directly with the
Pantelli
s
. Probably even get them to discount the debt
, a
nd I sure as hell won
’
t pay any
vig.
”

“
People know I
’
m here. Someone may have seen me come in
.
And I don
’
t have a weapon.
”

“
You will have.
I
t
’
s going to
look like you came in, tried to rob me
,
and I shot you in self
-
defense.
”