"Mitch told me that much."
"I got a lot more serious about the situation after I heard the rumor that Octavia had been voted Most Likely Suspect."
"Octavia?" Sullivan scowled. "Now, that's interesting."
"I thought so." Never let it be said that the old man was losing it mentally, Nick thought. Sullivan had grasped the implications immediately. "Especially when you consider that she's well-liked here in town. It would have been a lot easier to cast suspicion on the Heralds, who are viewed as the local weirdos and outsiders."
"You figure it's personal, don't you? Someone is out to pin the blame on Octavia for some specific reason."
"That's how it looks to me."
"You sure she hasn't managed to piss off someone here in town? Maybe refused to market some artist who's decided to get even?"
"I don't think so." Nick shot him a searching glance. "I'm starting to wonder if this could be coming out of the past."
"Claudia Banner."
"Yes."
"But the only folks who got hurt when Claudia pulled off her scam all those years ago were Mitch and me. And we're both a little too old for revenge, even if we had a notion to go after it."
"I doubt if anyone gets too old for revenge if the motivation is strong enough, but I agree that you and Mitch are not the ones behind this. What I want to know is, do you think there's anyone else in Eclipse Bay who might harbor a grudge against Claudia Banner that would be big enough to make him go after Octavia?"
Sullivan contemplated that in silence for a while.
"If there's one thing I've learned about business in the past sixty years," he said finally, "it's that it's always personal. And when the deal involves as much cash as Claudia's scam did, there's usually a fair amount of collateral damage."
"Meaning maybe someone besides you and Mitchell Madison got hurt?"
"Could be. It's possible. I can't give you any names but I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll go over this with Mitch. You know, he and I never really talked about the details of what happened when Claudia put us into bankruptcy. We were too busy blaming each other and firing up the feud. But maybe we can discuss it calmly now. Put our heads together and reconstruct events, so to speak."
"Thanks. Let me know if you come up with anyone who might still be so pissed off at Claudia Banner that he would go after her niece."
"All right. It's a long shot, though. You do realize that?"
"Sure. But that's all I've got at the moment. Long shots."
"I can see that." Sullivan came to a halt and stabbed the cane into the sand a few times. He gave Nick a beatific smile. "Now that that's settled, how about I do you a favor and give you some time to yourself?"
"You offering to babysit?"
"Figured I'd take Carson back to Portland with me for a few days. Lillian and I can look after him while Gabe and Hamilton argue about the details of the merger. You'll have time to work on finding that missing painting."
"Sure. If he wants to go, you're welcome to take him with you, but don't pretend that you're trying to do me any favors. You just want another opportunity to mold him in your image. You think you can turn him into the next major empire builder in the family."
"You've got to admit, the boy's got a flair for business."
Sullivan chuckled. "Remember how much money he made off that lemonade stand he set up in front of the house a few months ago when you brought him down to Phoenix? Talk about a natural aptitude."
Nick regarded his son playing with Winston and felt a rush of pride. "We'll see."
"We will, indeed. By the way, don't tell me that I'm not doing you any favors by removing young Carson from the vicinity for a while. I'd think you'd appreciate me giving you a little space in which to do your courting."
"Courting." Nick stumbled over a rocky outcropping. He caught his balance and glowered at Sullivan. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I figure I owe you that much," Sullivan continued smoothly, "after the way I tried to coerce you into taking over Harte Investments. And I've got to say, I think you've made a fine choice. I'm rather fond of Octavia."
"Damn it, who said anything about me courting Octavia Brightwell?"
"Gives me a good feeling to be helping you out like this. I do believe I'm getting downright sentimental in the twilight of my life."
"Twilight, my ass. You're not getting sentimental, you're still trying to run things, the way you always have."
"What can I say? It's in the blood."
They set out for Portland two hours later. Sullivan waited until they passed the You Are Now Leaving Eclipse Bay sign before he picked up the cell phone and punched out Mitchell's number.
"Well?" Mitchell demanded. "Did you get Nick straightened out?"
Sullivan glanced at Carson seated beside him. The boy was immersed in a book about dogs. "There's no need to worry about my grandson's, uh, association with Miss Brightwell."
Mitchell snorted loudly on the other end. "So you say."
"You'll have to take my word on that subject, Mitch. Meanwhile, something has come up in regard to that missing painting. Nick's got a hunch that there's a personal angle here. He thinks the thief might be someone who is still holding a grudge because of what happened when Claudia took Harte-Madison apart."
"But you and I were the ones who went bankrupt all those years ago. As far as I know we were the only people who got ripped off. Why the hell would anyone else still hold a grudge?"
"I don't know. I suggest we start with a list of everyone we knew at the time who might have had anything to do with Claudia and Harte-Madison."
"That's gonna take some thinking."
"I know. Tell you what. You put your list together and I'll make up mine. Then we can talk and compare notes. Maybe something will hit us."
"I'll see what I can do." Mitch paused. "You're sure Nick is gonna get his act together with Octavia?"
"Count on it."
Sullivan ended the call and looked at Carson. "Picked out the kind of dog you want?"
"I want one just like Winston."
"Can't go wrong with another Winston." Sullivan ruffled the boy's hair, then reached into his briefcase. "That reminds me, I brought a printout of your investment portfolio with me. Want to see how those lemonade profits are doing?"
Carson slammed the dog book closed. "How much money did I make?" he asked excitedly.