“Heard something about that.”
Warner snorted. “Of course you did. The whole town is talking about it. Your nephew Mason appears to have attached himself to her.”
Deke stilled, took a breath and let it out halfway, the way he did before he took the kill shot.
“What are you saying, Colfax?” he asked. “Are you implying that Mason is seeing Lucy because he wants to get his hands on those shares?”
Warner blinked a couple times. He went very still, too, but it was a deer-in-the-headlights kind of stillness. He stared at Deke for an instant before he recovered his nerve. He even managed a chuckle, but it was a little shaky.
“Take it easy, Deke,” he said. “No offense intended. But we both know there’s a lot of money involved here. Those shares that Lucy inherited represent a controlling interest in Colfax Inc. A man would have to be a fool not to be aware that she could be a very wealthy woman if she decides to sell those shares.”
“So?”
“So I’m offering to buy the shares,” Warner said evenly. “Lucy can name her own price.”
“Expect she knows that.”
“Make sure Mason knows it. If he really has feelings for Lucy, he can do her a favor by encouraging her to sell.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to sell.”
Warner’s mouth thinned. He shook his head. “That would be a poor decision.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No.” Warner exhaled heavily. “Just some good advice. You see, Deke, things are going to get real messy, real soon. Certain members of my family think I’ve gotten soft in my old age. They think I can’t protect myself and everything I’ve built. They’re wrong. Lucy Sheridan is swimming in the shark tank. If she doesn’t sell those shares as soon as possible, she’s going to find herself in the middle of a feeding frenzy. We both know she isn’t one of the sharks. That makes her the prey.”
“Sure appreciate the helpful advice, Colfax. I’ll give you some in return.”
“What’s that?”
“Couple of minutes ago, you made it clear you didn’t think friends were of much use.”
Warner shrugged. “I’ve got all the friends I want, and I wouldn’t trust any of them any farther than I can spit.”
“Something you should keep in mind. Lucy also has friends here in Summer River. Unlike you, she can trust them.”
He didn’t have to spell it out. Warner got the message.
“Have it your way,” he said. “But my advice is the same. As long as Lucy is holding those shares, she’s asking for trouble. If she has any sense, she’ll take the money and run. Tell her I said that.”
“I’ll tell her.”
Warner nodded. He walked to the front door and stopped, one hand on the knob. “You know, it’s kind of ironic, when you think about it.”
“What is?” Deke asked.
“Brinker and I gave our sons all the advantages a man can give his boy—money, a good education, the right social connections and the opportunity to inherit a business worth millions. But you’re the one who raised up a boy to be a real man. Everyone around here knows you don’t mess with Mason Fletcher. Son of a bitch, Deke, I can’t think of the last time I envied anyone, but I envy you.”
21
There was nothing unusual about the terms of the Brinker estate.” Lucy studied the data on her computer screen. “He left everything to Tristan. The trust stipulated that if Tristan predeceased his father, the assets were to be divided equally among some distant relatives.”
“How distant?” Mason asked.
Lucy flipped to another screen full of data. “Some cousins on the East Coast. We’re not talking enormous sums of cash, by the way, at least not when you consider what half the company must have been worth. Still, the total amounted to a few million.”
Mason lounged back in his chair and sipped his coffee. His eyes were half closed. He was in some kind of Zen zone, Lucy thought—running scenarios and contemplating possible outcomes. Aunt Sara would have appreciated the aura of deep focus.
They were sitting at the kitchen table. She had made another pot of coffee after Nolan Kelly had left. She knew Mason had not been happy to see Nolan in the house. When he came through the door, his eyes had borne an uncanny resemblance to those of the dog. But he’d had the good sense not to lecture her about the dangers of allowing real estate agents through the front door. The man was learning.
Mason emerged from his contemplative state and fixed her with an intent look. “You said that none of the distant relatives got a huge amount of money out of the Brinker buyout.”
She glanced at the screen. “I’ve worked on a lot of big family estates. I’m not an expert on hedge funds, but it looks like Brinker sold his half of the company to Colfax for a surprisingly small amount of money.”
“Wonder why Brinker gave up his half for less than it was worth?”
Lucy looked up from the screen. “Maybe, like people say, with his son and heir dead, Brinker just didn’t care anymore. But there’s another possibility. Maybe by then Brinker knew he was dying.”
“A fortune doesn’t look so interesting if you know you’re not going to live long enough spend it and if you don’t care much about any of the people you’re leaving behind. Wonder if he realized he’d fathered a sociopath?”
“Knowing Tristan was a psycho wouldn’t necessarily lessen a father’s grief.”
Mason folded his hands behind his head. “I’ll bet Jeffrey Brinker knew that he was ill.”
“Why are you so sure of that?” Lucy asked.
“Because otherwise he probably wouldn’t have taken the low offer. He was still in his prime. He could have remarried and maybe tried for another heir.”
“Huh.” Lucy picked up a pen and tapped the point lightly against the table.
“What?”
“It occurred to me that everything you just said about Brinker could apply to Warner Colfax. I’m not saying Quinn is a sociopath, but evidently he isn’t management material. For whatever reason, his father has never given him anything except a token position in marketing, and that job is here in Summer River at the winery, not in San Francisco at the headquarters of Colfax Inc. Warner obviously doesn’t consider Quinn to be a fitting heir to the throne.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Just wondering if Warner dumped the first Mrs. Colfax in an effort to try for another heir.”