“I’m glad to hear that.”
“You and me both.”
“And how are things going with the Arrington?”
Stone grimaced.
“Trouble?”
“We’re starting to expand in the U.S. like Marcel’s been doing in Europe, with the International Arrington Group. We were looking at a property in Phoenix, but it fell through last week.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“As both you and I know, that’s business.”
Their conversation turned to other things and soon Danny returned with their waitress, carrying their lunch.
As she set the plates in front of Stone and Ed, Danny said, “This is a personal favorite. Lobster ravioli in creamy white wine sauce. Lobster flown in this morning, and pasta made fresh today. Please enjoy.” He and the waitress retreated.
Stone took a bite and his eyes lit up.
“Not bad, right?” Ed said.
“Ed, not bad doesn’t even come close to how good this is.”
When they were finished, Ed requested the check, but Danny was having none of it. When he wasn’t looking, Ed slipped some cash under his plate, and Stone and Ed headed out.
“Do you have plans this afternoon?” Ed asked.
“I’m a free man.”
“Take a drive with me?”
“Don’t you have a meeting?”
“I’ll be back in plenty of time.”
“Then sure.”
Ed drove Stone to the outskirts of town and parked on a quiet side road in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. From there, they walked through a grove of pines to the top of a small ridge.
Ed nodded at the view. “Not bad, huh?”
Below, the land was a mix of trees and clearings, with not a building in sight. And beyond, the mountains cut a jagged line against the sky.
“Gorgeous,” Stone said.
“I was thinking that this would be a wonderful spot for an Arrington Resort.”
Stone looked at Ed, then back at the land, and assessed it anew.
“I take it this land is available.”
Ed nodded. “You remember the people who left my office before lunch?”
“I do.”
“They’re Alfonso Otero’s children. Alfonso was a fixture here in Santa Fe for decades.”
“I’ve met him a couple of times,” Stone said. “But did you say was?”
“He passed away two weeks ago.”
Ed explained that while Alfonso had once been one of the city’s most successful businessmen, he had racked up considerable debt by the time he’d died.
“As executor of his will, I had to deliver the bad news. None of his kids were involved in the business and had thought everything was okay.”
“They were expecting a big inheritance?”
“No, but I’m sure they wouldn’t have turned it down. What they weren’t expecting was to inherit a company that owed more than it was worth.” Ed motioned to the area below the ridge. “What you’re looking at is the estate’s most valuable asset.”
“Why didn’t he sell it before he died?”
“He tried, but there were no takers.”
“Is there something wrong with it?”
“Not a thing. Just didn’t find the right buyer.”
“Zoning restrictions?”
“Nothing that can’t easily be dealt with.”
Stone studied the land for several moments. “If the Oteros are able to sell it...”
“They’d be able to cover their debts, maybe even have a little extra to split between themselves.”
Stone scanned the land again, liking what he saw. “I’ll discuss it with Mike Freeman. No promises, though.”
“I wouldn’t expect any.”
Once they were back in the car, Ed said, “If you’re free tomorrow night, Susannah and I are going to an exhibition opening at a gallery in town, and we’d love to have you join us.”
“Count me in.”
“Dinner first?”
“A man has to eat.”
“I’ll call you with the details.”
Stone sent Mike photos of the property as soon as he returned to the Lees’ house and had no sooner set his phone down when it rang.
“A potential location for the new Arrington?” Mike asked.
“Right in one.”
“It’s breathtaking. Where is this?”
“Santa Fe.”
“Ah, I should have recognized the mountains. You’re there now?”
“I am. Ed Eagle represents the estate that owns the property. He’s the one who showed it to me.”
“Your thoughts?”
“It’s definitely worth looking into.”
“I agree. I’m flying to San Diego the day after tomorrow. I can make a stop there and drop off an assessment team.”
“That’s a great idea. And bring Herb Fisher, if he’s free. He can coordinate everything and handle an offer if we decide to make one.”
“Will do.”
Chapter 14
Later that afternoon, Simon Duchamp locked himself inside the small office at the back of Duchamp Gallery Santa Fe and used a new burner phone to call Dalton Conroy.
Conroy was his inside man at Vitale Insurance. The company offered a wide variety of specialized plans, including policies for valuable works of art. Conroy oversaw fraud investigations, had access to who had what art pieces, where the pieces were kept, and any security that was used to protect said pieces.
It took four rings before the insurance exec picked up. “Yes?”
“Is this a bad time?”
“Oh, it’s you. Call you back in five.”
The line went dead.
Simon looked at his phone, eyebrow raised.
Conroy had a higher opinion of his status than was warranted, both in his importance to Simon and at his day job. Simon knew for a fact the man often took credit for work done by subordinates. For a long time, Simon had been able to overlook the man’s arrogance thanks to the quality of information passed on, but recently, Conroy had begun acting as if Simon couldn’t operate without him.
While it was true that the information he sourced was useful to each job, Conroy was not irreplaceable. There were plenty of other well-placed people who could do what he did. All it took was identifying a person’s weakness, applying pressure where needed, and then offering a suitable amount of money to “solve the problem.” The classic stick and carrot.
It was almost ten minutes before Conroy called back.
“What do you want?” Conroy said.
“If I’m troubling you, I’ll find what I need elsewhere.”
Conroy laughed. “Like you could do that.”
“I could. Easily.”
The line went quiet for a moment.
“Sorry,” Conroy mumbled. “Things are a little busy here. I’ve been looking for a replacement for that person I had to fire last week, while making sure the cases she’d been working on are covered.”
“Finding the right people for a job is always difficult.” Simon could care less about Conroy’s personnel problems, but as the saying went, you catch more flies with honey.
“You can say that again. Anyway, what are you looking for?”
“The artist’s name is Matilda Stone, active second half of the last century.”
“Title of the picture?”
“I just need to know the location of as many of her paintings as you can find. And I need the info asap.” While Simon had the list from Nico, there was no need to share it with Dalton.
“Sounds like a big job.”
“The size of the job is not your concern.”
“All right, all right. I didn’t mean anything by it. I should have something for you in three or four days.”
“Two days tops. One would be better.”
“I can’t promise you that.”
“Then your services are no longer needed. Goodbye, Mr.—”
“Hold on. I didn’t say I couldn’t do it.”