Chris, Roger and Jane were already huddled in the conference room when Dave got into the office at 9:30. Mary and Grace had been working on funeral arrangements. Ken’s remains were being released today and would be flown back to Tampa. They decided to have the viewing Wednesday evening from 6 to 9, and a church service the following morning.
“Fred and Bill asked to be pallbearers,” Mary said. “We need four more names.”
“How about Roger, Joe Fredericks, Buzz and Ron Arnold, a golfing friend from the club,” Dave suggested. He half-jokingly asked if Ken should be laid out in his best golf slacks and shirt, rather than a suit, which he seldom wore.
Sometimes Mary didn’t appreciate Dave’s attempts at humor.
Bradford poured a cup of coffee and joined the group in the conference room. “Any progress?”
“Not yet, Dave, but we are getting there,” Chris replied. “One thing, I was going to use the 3-month revenue numbers as revised by the audit team. Okay?”
“That’s fine, Chris. When you get a chance, I need to talk with you for a few minutes. And by the way, the viewing is tomorrow evening and the church service and burial is Thursday morning. Pass the word.”
Chris came into Dave’s office and sat down. “If it’s about the meeting later, I can’t tell you much because I don’t know. I do know they were excited. Whatever it was in that envelope was important.”
“That’s not it, Chris. How well did you know Ken? I heard some rumors, but didn’t care if they were true or not.”
“Why ask now, Dave?”
“Because I’m trying to make sense of what Sven said about Ken. I don’t want to believe that Ken would demand a payoff. What can you tell me?”
She hesitated, before answering. “I have thought about that too. Ken and I were close and shared a lot of personal information. I would have known if he was going to try to hold up Sven for $10M. I don’t believe it.”
“Did Ken know about your DEA job?”
“I don’t think so. It’s possible, but I really don’t think so. You know Ken; he would have said something.”
“Are you telling me everything you know about the envelope that Jack got? You don’t know what was in it or where it came from?”
Chris got up to leave. “I’ve told you what I know and I don’t appreciate being grilled. I’ll see you at 3:00.”
Dave was perplexed. If that was Ken’s handwriting, who did he send it to? Why wouldn’t he have sent it to him, or Chris?
”Dave, here is what we want you to do.” Steve was talking, and Chris, Jack, Andrea and Bradford were listening. “The way I understand this, both Mario and Sven want to buy out the other group. Mario can’t raise the money in time and stands to lose the $40M deposit if he can’t come up with at least $200M by Monday. Sven’s attorneys can probably block Mario from buying him out unless he agrees to the sale. Is that about it?”
“Good summary” Bradford replied. “Should we flip a coin?”
“No, we have a better idea. We want you to set up your golf tournament Saturday as a winner-take-all match. Mario will back Buzz and Sven will back you. The winner gets control of the company.”
“I’m missing something. How does this help you?”
“You told us that Mario needs $200M by Monday or he will forfeit a $40M deposit. Right?”
Dave nodded and Steve continued.
“You will insist that the winner pays off immediately after the match, which means that if you win, Sven’s group will need to wire transfer the money Saturday afternoon. The FBI will be waiting to track the funds. Saturday is a slow day for international fund transfers, and the transaction will be easy to isolate. We have a list of banks and account numbers to watch.”
“What if Buzz wins?” Dave asked. “Most people would consider him the favorite.”
“The scenario if Buzz wins is not nearly as good, but we can’t help that. Mario will probably get away for now, but eventually we will get him. Sven will also need to raise the money to pay off Mario. Either way, we are hoping the money tells a story.”
“We really need you to win.”
“Mario and Romano might make a mistake,” Steve added. “They will assume that Buzz will win, which means they need about $200M in cash by Saturday plus whatever it takes to buy out the Zurich group. That’s a lot of money to come up with in a couple days, even for Romano. The DEA will be working overtime this weekend.”
“Let me give you a scenario and you tell me what will happen. The match is even after the 16th hole, and I win seventeen,” Bradford hypothesized. “Will I make it to the 18th tee?”
Chris interjected; “I will be walking with you the entire round. It’s my job to protect you.”
“That’s nice,” Bradford said sarcastically. “I’m glad there won’t be any pressure on me Saturday.”
The meeting was over in plenty of time to go back to the office, or play nine holes. Dave’s clubs were in the trunk, which made the decision easy. All he needed was permission.
“Mary, I’m going to try to get a few holes in before dark. Why don’t you call Fred and Judy to see if they wanted to join us for a couple drinks and a casual dinner tonight? Applebee’s or Chili’s would be fine with me. You guys decide.” Taking Mary out to dinner always worked. Bradford headed for the golf course.
“How did you hit the ball, Dave?” Fred asked. “You haven’t touched a club since Saturday, have you?”
The four friends were sitting at a small, upscale French restaurant. It was nice, but not what he had suggested. He should know that if he wanted casual, he shouldn’t have asked Mary and Judy to pick the restaurant. A woman’s idea of casual is much different than a man’s.
“No, I haven’t, Fred, and I was almost out of balls by the fourth hole. I settled down a little and played the last five holes pretty well. I came up behind a four-some which helped slow me down. I started playing two or three balls just about every shot. It was just what I needed.”
“How was that movie with Jack Nicholson?” Mary asked Judy, obviously wanting to change the subject.
“It was hilarious. Fred was laughing so hard his face was red. You two have to see it.”
It was a nice, comfortable evening among friends, just what Bradford needed. There was little talk about business or the funeral until they were ready to leave.
“I guess we will see you two tomorrow at the funeral home,” Dave said.
“Yeah, we’ll be there. It will be tough saying goodbye, especially when we don’t know what happened. Have the police told you anything?”
“Just enough to know it wasn’t suicide or an accident. I think they might be on to something, but they aren’t telling me. I gather it was business-related, but I’m not sure.”
“Keep me updated, Dave. Let me know if Judy and I can do anything.”
“I will, Fred. You and Judy have been good friends.”
Wednesday
Business Valuation