Bradford was in a great mood as he walked off the green. He had picked up three holes on the back nine and was now one-up with a realistic chance to win the tournament next Saturday. Dave’s mood quickly changed when he spotted Mary running towards him. It was obvious she was upset and had been crying.
“What’s wrong, Mary? Are the kids okay?”
“The kids are fine, but I have horrible news. There is no easy way to say this.”
“Just tell me, Mary; what is it?”
“ Ken’s dead.”
“What! It can’t be. Are you sure?” Dave knew he wasn’t making any sense and struggled to get his emotions under control. “I’m sorry, Mary, tell me what happened.” Dave’s wrapped his arms around her and they hugged until Mary regained her composure.
“Chris called about two hours ago, just after you teed off on the back nine. I didn’t want to bother you so I just waited. I know this tournament is important to you, and Chris said there is nothing we can do right now. Was that okay?”
“That’s fine, honey, but the match isn’t that important. I would have stopped playing. You know, I bet Buzz would have wanted to stop too. He and Ken were good friends. But that doesn’t matter, tell me what happened.”
“Chris said he fell from the restaurant balcony in Cabo last night. They had dinner with Pedro and Alberto. Everything was fine. She and the others were tired and left about midnight, but Ken stayed to have a nightcap. She said Ken had a few drinks but not that many. He wasn’t drunk”
“Ken could hold his liquor. He wouldn’t get drunk enough to fall over the railing. Did Chris say what happened in Zurich?”
“She said everything had gone well. Ken got the financing and was in a pretty good mood although something was bothering him. She called again an hour ago and asked that you call her as soon as possible.”
“Does anyone else know?” Bradford asked as he put his clubs in the trunk and walked to the clubhouse.
“Judy knows. I was such a wreck that I had to tell someone. She and Fred are waiting inside. Fred also thought Bill should be told right away. I don’t think they told anyone else. We thought you might want to break the news to Ken’s friends.”
Bradford was numb as he walked into the clubhouse. The news was starting to sink in. He tried to smile as a number of club members offered their congratulations on a good round, and wished him luck next week.
Buzz was sitting at the table with Bill and Fred. It was clear that he had not been told. He congratulated me once more and got up to leave the table. “Hold on, Buzz. There is something you need to know.”
Fred and Bill stood and offered Dave their sympathy and Judy gave him a warm hug and kiss. She had been crying too. Bradford returned their expressions of sympathy. They were Ken’s friends too. Buzz was trying to figure out what was going on, but the beers were getting in the way.
“Bill, I have a message to call Chris. Let me call her and she if has anything new. Why don’t you bring Buzz up to date? When I get back, we can make an announcement to the others.”
Chris picked up on the first ring. “Dave, I’m glad you called. Mary told you what happened, didn’t she?”
“She did, Chris, a few minutes ago. I’m still numb. How are you holding up?”
“Not well, Dave, not well. I have only felt this way once before, when my brother died. Ken was special. Are you still planning on coming down here tonight?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Chris.” Her voice told Dave he was needed in Cabo even if the meeting was cancelled. “Have the police told you anything?”
“The police just say they are looking into all possibilities including foul play. I get the feeling they know something.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later, Chris. Try to get some rest. Maybe tomorrow we can go to church.”
Buzz was stone sober when Bradford returned and offered his sympathy. He was close to tears.
“Dave,” Bill suggested, “Why don’t you make an announcement? Ken worked for you and was your friend. I feel guilty watching people celebrate when a friend of theirs just died. When you are done, I would like to say a couple words.”
“Hey, quiet down, guys, I need your attention? I have some bad news.” The room became deathly still when they saw the expression on Dave’s face.
“Last night Ken Reid fell to his death from a 12th floor restaurant balcony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.”
Murmurs of shock and disbelief spread through the room. “What happened, Dave?” someone finally asked.
“We’re not sure. All I know is that the Mexican police are looking into it, but right now they assume it was an accident.” There were murmurs of disbelief, and then silence as they waited for Dave to continue.
“Today’s golf match with Buzz doesn’t mean much now, except to provide an example of how much Ken meant to Mary and me. I was a 16-handicap three years ago when I met Ken, and you all have witnessed the improvement. Ken deserves the credit. He also was a great friend and business associate. Mary and I will miss him on and off the golf course.”
“Buzz, would you like to say a few words?”
“Thank you, Dave. Ken was my best friend. I feel terrible having played golf today and not knowing he was gone. But you know, that’s what he would have wanted.”
Buzz was close to tears as were most of the men in the room. “Today’s round of golf seems like a distant memory,” Bradford thought.
Chris met Bradford at the Cabo airport and they drove back to the hotel. It was obvious she was taking Ken’s death hard.
They stopped for a drink in the lounge and ordered two martinis. They both needed it. Bradford ordered a second round before Chris felt like talking. She had two pieces of news, neither of which was good.
“The meeting with Sven and Mario this afternoon was a disaster. Ken had told us at dinner that the financing was set. Zurich agreed to provide everything we requested in return for 49% equity. Mario would still maintain 51% control which was his prime concern. We went into the meeting assuming everything was set, until Sven blindsided us.”
“What happened?”
“Well, Sven starts out by asking for the findings from the audit group, which pretty much spelled out that revenue was being siphoned off the top, plus a few other irregularities. This takes about an hour and Mario is forced to apologize and say it won’t happen again. You could tell Mario was getting mad.”
“We all knew this, but Ken said Friday that Sven didn’t care. He had everything worked out with Zurich. Sven just did this to make Mario grovel.”
“Then came the topper. Sven says this can’t go on. He wants to buy Mario out and take control of all the projects. He won’t stand to be cheated; he made an offer; $100M Mario, take it or leave it.”
“I thought Mario was going to explode, but he didn’t. He kept his composure.”
“Let me sleep on it, Mr. Johansson. We’ll get back to you tomorrow.” Mario got up and left the room. The meeting was over.
“That’s where we are now, Dave. The meeting is set for tomorrow at 1:00 PM. Mario would like to meet with you this evening.”
“Chris, let’s meet with Mario in the morning. You and I need to spend some time together and talk. Have you eaten?”
“No, I haven’t felt much like eating today, but I need something. Let me tell you the next bit of news. The police are talking like it was murder, and interviewing everyone that was at the restaurant that evening. Apparently several people saw Ken talking with another man shortly before he fell. They are trying to find this guy but only have a general description.”
“Who would want to kill Ken?”
Dagfin was not happy. “Why the change in plans, I thought we had a deal worked out with Ken? What happened?”
“I’m not sure, either,” Sven answered. “I’m just following orders. It’s too bad about Ken. I liked him and I know the two of you were friends.”
“Yes, he was a great guy to work with. The police are talking like there might have been foul pl
ay. I certainly hope it didn’t have anything to do with this deal.”
“Not to my knowledge, Dag. It was probably just an unfortunate accident.”
“Tell that SOB what he can do with his buyout offer,” Romano screamed. “We keep 51%. That’s non-negotiable. You tell him that, Mario. I thought you said we had a deal to get the money.”
“That’s what Ken told Alberto and Pedro last night. I guess he was wrong or someone changed their mind.”
“Try to find out what happened, Mario. There is something going on here that we don’t understand.”
“Hi honey, it’s me. I got here okay and had dinner with Chris. How are things on your end?”
“I’m glad you called. Everything is a mess here. The kids are having a rough time. They looked forward to Ken’s visits. They finally went to sleep an hour ago. How are things with Mario?”
“We have some problems with Sven’s group, but I’ll call you tomorrow and fill you in when I know more. Have you talked to anyone about the funeral, like where and when? Is his ex-wife going to handle it or should we have it in Tampa?”
“I left several messages for her to call me, but haven’t heard from her. I’m not sure if she knows yet. It’s too late to call again this evening. I’m going to take a pill and try to get some sleep.”
“Good night; I love you.”
“I love you too, Dave. Be careful and good luck tomorrow.”
Sunday
The Zurich Proposal