“Is Boston that important?” Diane asked. “Can Benjamin smash your deal if he knows where it is?”
“I doubt it. But he’d give his eye teeth to know who I’m dealing with—or even that there is a deal cooking. You know, once this thing goes through, I’ll be in a position to…”
The telephone rang again.
“There it is now,” King said, and he walked quickly to the phone.
“I’d better call for Bobby,” Diane said. “It’s beginning to get dark.”
“Honey, wait until I take this call, will you? I don’t want you yelling in the background.” He lifted the receiver. “Hello?”
“Ready on your call to Boston,” the operator said.
“Okay,” King said.
“Go ahead, sir. Your party is on the line.”
“Hello, Doug?”
“How’d you make out, Hanley?”
“It’s all set,” Hanley said wearily. “I got that five per cent for you.”
“Great! On margin? You got it on margin?”
“Just the way you wanted it, Doug. How soon can you get that check up here?”
“I’ll send Pete immediately. Reserve a room for him. Pete, what’d you find out about those planes?”
“Flights leaving Perry Field every hour on the hour.”
“Good.” King looked at his watch. “Can you make a nine o’clock plane?”
“If you say so,” Cameron said. Hanley,” King said into the phone, “he’ll be on the nine o’clock plane. I don’t know what time it arrives. You check with the terminal there.”
“Right.”
“And Hanley?”
“Yes, Doug?”
“Good work, boy.” He hung up. “Now we move!” he said excitedly. “Pete, call the airline and get that reservation right away!” He snapped his fingers, pushed a button in the face of the phone, lifted the receiver, paused a moment, and then said, “Reynolds, get over here, will you? On the double.”
“Is everything all set now?” Cameron asked. “Can you tell me about it now?”
“Now that it’s in the bag, I’d even tell Benj—No, no, I guess I wouldn’t.” He began chuckling. Quickly he walked to the bar and poured himself a drink.
“I’d better get Bobby,” Diane said. “Look at how dark it’s getting.”
“Let it wait a minute, Diane. Don’t you want to hear this?”
“Yes, but—”
“Honey, the boy is in his own back yard, for God’s sake.”
“Well… all right. But I really…”
“You heard Benjamin spouting off, didn’t you, Pete? Said that I had thirteen per cent of the voting stock, am I right?”
“Right.”
“Wrong!” King said. He paused, anticipating the dropping of his bombshell. “I’ve been buying stock quietly for the past six years. Right now, right this minute, I’ve got twenty-eight per cent of it.”
“Doug, that’s wonderful!” Diane said.
“But where does Boston come in?” Cameron asked.
“When did we go up there, Diane? Two weeks ago? Hanley’s been there since, lining this up, working on a guy who owns what I call a ‘disinterested’ chunk of voting stock.”
Quickly he crossed to a dropleaf desk in the corner, opened it, and pulled a checkbook toward him. Sitting at the desk, he began filling out the check.
“How much of a chunk?” Cameron asked.
“Nineteen per cent.”
“Whaaat!”
“Add it up. Nineteen and twenty-eight make forty-seven. That’s enough to swing any election my way, even if those idiots should try to work out something with the Old Man. Enough to make me president of Granger! That means I’ll run the company my way, and I’ll make whatever damn shoes I want to make!” He ripped the check from the book triumphantly and handed it to Cameron. “Here,” he said, “take a look at this.”
Cameron took the check and emitted a long, low whistle.
“Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” he said, awed.
“And that’s on a fifty per cent margin. That stock is costing me a million and a half bucks before this is over and done with. But it’s worth it, believe me!”
“Doug, where’d you ever… ?”
“I’ve converted damn near everything we own into cash, Diane. I’ve even taken a mortgage on this house.”
“A mor—” Diane stared at King speechlessly and then sat, suddenly overwhelmed.
“That’s… that’s a mighty big pile of money,” Cameron said.
“Everything I own! And a tight scrape at that, believe me. I couldn’t have got it for a penny less. Diane, this deal is going to make me.”
“I… I hope so, Doug.”
“It can’t miss, honey. Nobody can stop me now.”
“Who are you buying the stock from, Doug?” Cameron asked.
“A guy who cornered it on the q.t., and who doesn’t give a damn how we run the company. He’d just as soon have the cash as—”
“Who?” Cameron said. “What’s his name, Doug?”
“The beautiful part is that he’s got the stock spread over about two dozen proxies. Besides us, there isn’t a soul who knows he controls such a big chunk.”
“Who? Who is he?” Cameron said.
There was a slight cough at the end of the room. King turned toward the dining room. “Ah, Reynolds, there you are,” he said. “I want you to drive Mr. Cameron to the airport.”
“What’s the rush, Doug?” Cameron said. “I haven’t even got my reservation yet.”
“Well, then get on it right away, will you?”
“And I’d better get on Bobby right away,” Diane said. She went to the front door and opened it. “Bobby!” she called, “Bobby!”
“We’ll have to wait until Mr. Cameron makes his reservation, Reynolds,” King said. “That shouldn’t take too long.”
“Bobby!” Diane called. “Bob-by!”
The telephone rang. King picked it up.
“Hello?” he said.
“King?”
“Yes, this is Mr. King.” He covered the mouthpiece and turned to Pete. “Come on, Pete, get moving. There isn’t much time to lose.”
At the same instant, the voice on the other end said, “Don’t hang up on me this time, King. We’re not fooling around here.”
“What? I’m sorry,” King said. “What did you say?”
“We’ve got your son, King.”
“My son? What are you… ?” He turned quickly toward the door.
“Bob-by!” Diane called. “Bobby, will you please answer me?”
“Your son, we’ve kidnaped your son,” the voice said.
“You… you have my son?”
Diane whirled from the open doorway. “What? What did you say?”