The Birthday Girl (27 page)

Anderson started after Sabatino, but stopped at the door to the study. He flinched as the front door slammed. 'That wasn't smart, Tony.'

'I think you should go too, Maury.'

Anderson paced up and down, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'You've no idea what you've done,' he whined.

Mersiha peered through her bedroom curtains to watch Sabatino walk back to his car. The driver scurried to open the car door for him but Sabatino got to the handle first. Even from fifty yards away it was clear that he was furious. He was glaring at the house, and Mersiha backed away from the window, afraid that he'd seen her. She tiptoed back down the stairs. Earlier she'd had to press her ear to the closed door in order to hear Sabatino and her father, but now the door to the study was wide open and she didn't have to eavesdrop to hear her father and Maury Anderson arguing.

'What's going on with you two?' her father said.

'You shouldn't have spoken to him that way,' Anderson responded, his voice shaking.

'Why are you so scared of him? What is he, some sort of gangster?'

Anderson laughed harshly. Mersiha shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. It was the first time she'd ever heard her father argue with his partner. 'Sabatino has some very dangerous friends, Tony. He's connected.'

'Connected? You mean he's in the Mafia?'

'I don't know if he's in the Mafia, but he's got associates who are.'

'And you let this man invest in our company? What the hell were you playing at?'

For a while there was silence. Mersiha could hear someone pacing up and down on the carpet. 'I didn't have any choice, Tony. You weren't here. You were in Sarajevo, remember?'

'What are you saying?'

'I'm saying that when you were held hostage, I needed to raise money quickly. We had a ransom to pay, remember? And when that went wrong, we had to pay to send people in to get you out. The government didn't pay for that. CRW did. I had to keep the company running, and we had to raise money to get you out. Do you think the banks were queuing up to lend me the money? Even your beloved Walter wouldn't help. He'd have let you rot in that basement so long as we met our interest payments.'

'So you went to a gangster? Is that it?'

'No, that's not it. I was approached by an accountant, on behalf of Ventura Investments. Everything seemed just hunkydory. It was only afterwards that I met Sabatino. By then it was too late.'

Freeman sighed deeply. 'So you're saying it's my fault for being kidnapped?'

'I'm not saying it's your fault, no. But if you'd been here, things might have happened differently.'

'Yeah? Well whose idea was it to send me to Bosnia in the first place, Maury? Answer me that.'

Mersiha flinched as her father began to shout. She felt a sudden rush of guilt. If what Anderson was saying was true, she was partly to blame for her father's situation. She rocked backwards and forwards on the stairs nervously.

'Look, blaming each other isn't going to get us anywhere,' Anderson said. 'Sabatino wants to buy CRW. I think we should sell.'

'Fine. That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. But first the directors have to discuss it, then it goes to a full shareholders' meeting. And you know what Katherine and I are going to say.'

'Then you'll be making a big mistake, Tony. A big mistake.'

'That sounds like a threat. I'm starting to resent being threatened.'

'Take it any way you want. But I'll tell you now, if Sabatino wants the company, he'll get it. One way or another. He's a bully, a bully who's used to getting what he wants, and the more you try to deny him, the worse he gets.'

'What do you think he'll do?' Freeman asked, his voice quieter this time. Mersiha had to strain to hear.

'Best you don't wait to find out. Call him tomorrow and tell him you'll sell.'

'No.'

'At least sleep on it.'

'No. And I think you should consider your position with the company.'

'You mean you're sacking me?'

'I mean I don't think you can justify your place on the board any longer. If you wanted to leave, I wouldn't stand in your way.'

'You can't force me to resign.'

'Maybe you should sleep on it too.'

Mersiha heard Anderson walk towards the hallway and she scampered upstairs. She hid in the bathroom as Anderson left the house, then went back downstairs. Her father was sitting at his desk, his head in his hands.

'Dad?' she said, her voice trembling.

He looked up and smiled. 'Hiya, pumpkin. What's up?'

She walked into the middle of the room, rubbing her hands together as if washing them. 'Is everything okay?' she asked.

'Sure.' Realisation dawned. 'Oh, you heard us arguing?'

'Yeah. I guess.'

Freeman stood up and went over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. 'It's just business, pumpkin. Nothing's wrong. Honest.'

Mersiha looked up at him, wanting to believe him with all her heart but knowing that he was lying. She'd heard Sabatino threaten him, and she knew enough about CRW's finances to know that the company was at risk of being taken over. She impulsively hugged her father, pressing her head against his chest. Freeman patted her on the back. 'Dad, be careful,' she whispered.

Freeman tried to laugh off her concern. 'Maury and I just lost our tempers, Mersiha. It'll all blow over by tomorrow.' Mersiha wanted to ask him about Sabatino, but she knew that would mean telling him that she'd been eavesdropping. Besides, he wouldn't tell her the truth, he'd lie to protect her. She closed THE BIRTHDAY GIRL 221 her eyes and hugged him, and silently promised herself that she'd help him out of his predicament.

Freeman was unloading the dishwasher when Katherine arrived home, laden down with shopping bags.

'God, I hate shopping,' she said, leaning against the door.

'I'd never have guessed,' he smiled. 'Shoes?'

'How did you ... ah, Mersiha told you. Hmmm, I shall have to have a word with that young lady. Us shoppers should stick together. Where is she?'

'Upstairs, hitting the books.'

'Have you eaten?'

'Yup. Chicken salad.' He folded his arms and sat back in his chair. 'Maury was here earlier.'

'Oh really?' said Katherine. 'What did he want?'

'He brought Sabatino with him.'

'Sabatino?'

'The guy behind Ventura Investments. Kat, he's a gangster.'

'You mean he's ...'

'I mean he's a gangster,' Freeman said. 'God knows what Maury's involved in.'

Katherine put her shopping bags on the floor. 'Let me get a drink,' she said. 'It sounds like I'm going to need one.' She went into the sitting room and Freeman followed her. He sat by the fireplace as Katherine poured herself a brandy and Coke and lit a cigarette. 'Now I'm ready,' she said.

Freeman explained how Anderson had broken the news that Ventura wanted to take over CRW, and how he'd brought Sabatino to the house. Katherine stared at Freeman through a plume of cigarette smoke as he told her how Sabatino had lost his temper and stormed out.

'And he threatened you?'

Freeman pulled a face. 'Sort of. I can't remember his exact words because I was seeing red at the time. But the gist was that I should watch my back.'

'Do you think we should call the police?'

'And tell them what? I don't think so, Kat. Maybe I overreacted. I'll talk to Maury tomorrow.'

'You're not thinking of selling the company, are you?'

'Of course not.'

'Good.' She stubbed her cigarette out. 'The company, is it in really bad shape?'

Freeman shrugged. 'It's critical, but not terminal. Walter's not going to pull the plug on us the way that Nelson threatened to, and we had an unexpected order today. God, yes, I forgot to tell you. The Thais have put in a seven-million-dollar order for MIDAS systems. That'll keep us going for a while.'

'So it's not all bad news?'

'No. But this Sabatino guy worries me.'

'I'm sure he's just a sore loser, that's all.' She took a long drink of her brandy and Coke. 'Did you mean what you said about him being a gangster?'

'Maury said he was connected to the Mafia.'

'Are you sure he wasn't exaggerating?'

'I don't know, Kat. It's hard to tell. He's been acting a little strangely lately. I'll have a word with him tomorrow, see if I can't straighten things out.'

Katherine drained her glass and waved it from side to side. 'You want one?'

'No, thanks. Maybe later.'

Katherine shrugged and poured herself another. 'It'll be all right, Tony,' she said. 'I'm sure it will.'

Mersiha sat on the stairs, listening to her parents talk. She was filled with anger at the man who had threatened her father. Freeman had made light of Sabatino's visit, but Mersiha knew that he was only doing that so that she wouldn't worry. Her father might be much older than she was, but he didn't understand how evil men could be. Sabatino was capable of great evil, she was certain. And it was up to her to protect her father. She owed THE BIRTHDAY GIRL 223 it to him. She'd never appreciated before how much she was to blame for the company's financial problems. If Mersiha and her brother hadn't taken him hostage, maybe the company wouldn't be struggling now. It was her fault that he was in trouble, so it was only fair that she make it right. She'd solved the problem of Dr Brown. She'd do the same with the man called Sabatino.

Maury Anderson's Corvette was already in the car park when Freeman arrived at CRW's offices. Freeman wasn't looking forward to talking to his partner, though he knew he wouldn't be able to put it off indefinitely. He went straight to his own office, where Jo had his early-morning coffee ready for him.

'Maury's phoned for you, twice,' she said, handing him the mail.

Freeman walked up the stairs to Maury's office, figuring that he could probably do with the exercise. He took his coffee with him because he was certain he could do with the caffeine.

Anderson was at his desk, looking like death warmed up. His eyes had almost disappeared into black holes either side of his nose, he hadn't shaved, and his hair was greasy and unkempt as if he'd been running his hands through it. 'Tony. Hi.'

Freeman raised his mug in salute. 'You look like shit.'

Anderson grinned, and there was something manic about the gesture. 'Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm sorry about what happened.'

'That Sabatino guy worries me.'

'He worries me too, Tony. Have you thought about what he said?'

'I haven't changed my mind. If he wants to make a formal approach to the board, that's his right, but I for one will vote against it. Guaranteed.'

Anderson continued to grin, but he shook his head. 'Big mistake.'

'Fine. But it'll be my mistake.'

'Okay. Okay. But I'll speak to him. I'll put him off. If 224 STEPHEN LEATHER you don't want Ventura taking us over, that's the end of it.'

Freeman sipped his coffee. Anderson seemed totally stressed out, as if he'd crack at any moment. And he didn't think for one moment that Anderson believed what he was saying. 'Maury, are you all right?' he asked.

'I'm fine,' he replied. His hands were trembling. Freeman noticed that Anderson's nose was running. He had an urge to offer the man his handkerchief, but before he could Anderson wiped his nose with his sleeve. 'I'm fine, really. Really, I'm fine.' He nodded rapidly, his eyebrows raised, trying to elicit agreement from Freeman, who shook his head sadly. 'What?' Anderson said. 'What?' He grinned again. 'I'm fine, honest. Look, I'll talk to Sabatino, I'll fix it. I got us into this, I'll sort it out. Okay?' Freeman shrugged. He didn't care either way.

'About what you said last night. About my job. Did you mean it?'

'I think we should both take time out, Maury. Consider our positions.'

Anderson nodded, a little too quickly to be natural. 'Okay. Okay. That's good.'

Freeman frowned at his financial director. 'You need help, Maury. Counselling. Something.'

Anderson rubbed his nose with the flat of his hand. 'Yeah. Whatever you say, Tony. Whatever you say.'

Mersiha climbed off the bus and waved goodbye to the driver. It was a bright, sunny afternoon but there was a chill in the air and she had the collar of her coat turned up against the wind. She hadn't been able to concentrate on her classes all day. Part of her was thrilled at the prospect of the vacation with her father, but she was also worried about Sabatino. She'd run countless scenarios through her mind as she sat at her desk, but none seemed even remotely realistic. Scaring a wimpish psychiatrist was one thing; it was quite another to threaten a gangster.

Whatever she decided to do, she'd have to make sure it was foolproof. Buffy saw Mersiha walking towards the house and she came running over, all tongue and tail.

Freeman saw the black limousine when he was just a mile from his home. It was about a hundred yards behind his Lumina, matching his speed. The tinted windows prevented him from seeing into the back of the car but he knew exactly who was on his tail. Sabatino. His heart began to race. At first he couldn't understand why they were following him because Sabatino already knew where he lived, but then he realised that they were trying to intimidate him. The fear evaporated and was replaced by anger.

There was nothing he could do on the freeway so he kept his driving at just below the speed limit, watching the limousine in his mirror. He had a phone in his car but Freeman knew that calling the police wouldn't solve anything. The limousine wasn't threatening him, he was in no apparent danger, and no matter how sympathetic the police might be, they wouldn't be able to take any action.

He slowed down and left the freeway. The limousine followed. It got closer to the Lumina. Sabatino clearly wanted Freeman to know that he was being followed. The closer Freeman got to his house, the closer the limousine got to the rear of his car, as if deliberately trying to provoke him. He considered stamping on his brake but realised that wouldn't solve anything. The Freeman house was at the bottom of a cul-de-sac, but the limousine wasn't deterred. It followed the Lumina right up to the driveway and sat at the entrance like a stalking leopard as Freeman drove into his garage. He climbed out of his car and stood staring at the limousine, his hands on his hips. He half expected it to drive away, but it sat there, immobile, though the engine was still running.