smiled at each other, but the sardonic look on Kamin’s face left Wilson with a strange uneasiness that lingered throughout the signing.
KaneWeller’s lawyers had spent several days reviewing the company’s client files and discussing them at length with Fielder executives. How much have Kamin and Marshall missed or ignored in their due-diligence evaluation of my father’s business practices? Wilson wondered. What about Kamin? He’s been an associate of my father’s for years. How much does he know? What about the others? Daniel had assured Wilson that neither he nor his family would suffer any liability, regardless of what might come to light after the transaction was completed. Everyone in the room seemed satisfied, except maybe Cheryl O’Grady. She was one of KaneWeller’s attorneys, who kept staring at Wilson like a schoolteacher suspecting a student of cheating during an exam, which only served to amplify Wilson’s anxiety and wariness.
When all the documents were signed and properly distributed, Marshall Winthorpe handed Daniel a wire transfer order for $3.2 billion and stock certificates worth $1.8 billion to be deposited in an escrow account at UBS, where they would remain for the next thirty days. To speed up the negotiations, Daniel had proposed a thirty-day grace period during which KaneWeller could back out of the deal with sufficient cause, namely the discovery of any material misrepresentation of the facts by Fielder amp; Company. Daniel didn’t expect any problems since KaneWeller wasn’t looking for a way out. Wilson hoped he was right.
Less than forty-five minutes after they’d sat down at the boardroom table, Marshal Winthorpe and Wilson Fielder stood, shook hands, and congratulated each other. KaneWeller’s acquisition of his father’s eighty-two percent ownership of Fielder amp; Company had been consummated, at least provisionally. As the hand shaking and congratulations extended to the others in the boardroom, staffers from Daniel’s law firm brought in the traditional cigars and whiskey-Bolivar Corona Gigantes and Chivas Regal Royal Salute. An hour later, only Daniel and Wilson were left in the boardroom.
“I’m glad that’s completed,” Daniel said.
“You’re worried, aren’t you?”
Daniel gazed at Wilson for a prolonged moment. “Just glad there were no last minute surprises. Now we can accelerate the rest of the liquidation.”
“What else?”
“We have about seventy percent of your father’s stock positions and investment partnerships left to monetize.”
“No. I mean what else is bothering you? You said we’d talk about it after the signing,” Wilson said.
“Nothing that time won’t resolve,” Daniel said as he began picking up the documents from the conference table.
Wilson’s frustration was rising. He placed his hand on Daniel’s arm to stop his busywork. “I need to know what else is going on, Daniel.”
Daniel glared at Wilson before responding. “I’m concerned about the mounting surveillance,” he said abruptly and then returned to picking up papers.
This time Wilson grabbed Daniel’s arm. The jolt sent some of the papers sliding across the table and onto the floor. “Goddammit. What aren’t you telling me?” Wilson demanded.
“We didn’t expect this level of surveillance,” Daniel said, his eyes like pinwheels. “The number of people, the equipment, it’s more than we…”
“Where are they?”
“One of their locations is across the street from your family’s home on Brattle Street, on the top floor…”
“The Broadhead place? They wouldn’t…”
“The Broadheads don’t know about it. They’re in the Bahamas for four more weeks. Looks like the graduate student taking care of the house in their absence couldn’t resist the opportunity to make some extra cash. He’s temporarily moved into a bedroom in the basement.”
“How many people?”
“More than a dozen-four at the Broadhead house.”
“What kind of equipment?”
“Everything. Remote listening devices, motion-sensitive cameras, scanners that identify phone numbers and email addresses, car tracking satellite systems … you name it, they’ve got it.”
“Our security service hasn’t reported anything unusual,” Wilson said.
“They’re looking for burglars and intruders, not highly trained surveillance professionals.”
Wilson studied Daniel. The mix of puzzlement and fear in his eyes remained. Daniel’s in over his head, Wilson thought. “Can they hear everything we say in the house?”
“Probably.”
“What about here?”
“No. We’re jamming any surveillance.”
“Who else are they watching?”
“Carter Emerson and your girlfriend Emily Klein.”
“I haven’t seen her in months,” Wilson said, his anxiety spiking again. “Why the sudden escalation?”
“I can only assume they’re worried about what we know and what we intend to do about it,” Daniel said and then lowered his voice. “The completion of this deal should ease their concerns. It shows you’re separating yourself from your father’s business activities and moving on with your life.”
“What if it heightens them?” Wilson said.
“What do you mean?”
“KaneWeller could uncover the abuses.”
“We’ve taken care of that. KaneWeller has agreed that it’s in their best interest to refrain from working with certain former and current clients. The background files on our fifty-two problem clients will remain in our possession. It was the only way to control access. My firm’s management committee isn’t all that excited about it, but under the circumstances, we had no choice. Like I said, today’s transaction should improve things.”
“Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?” Wilson asked.
“We have to assume that the people watching us already know that we’re keeping the files. Preventing the information in those files from getting to the press, the SEC, the FBI, and anyone else is also in our best interest. They have to know that,” Daniel said and then paused. “How much longer are you going to need the copies I gave you?”
“Why?”
“Whoever tried to kill your father will strike again if they perceive any risk.”
Wilson studied Daniel again. “The same people who had Richard Beckstrom killed in prison?”
“Possibly.”
“You’re holding out on me again.”
“No, I’m not. The increased surveillance simply suggests a more serious investment in finding out what we know and what we plan to do about it. In my opinion, it’s the work of a well organized group of people.”
“How much do they know?”
“We have to assume they know everything, which means they know you have copies of the fifty-two file summaries.”
“I’ll have them to you tomorrow,” Wilson abruptly put an end to their conversation, saying good-bye to Daniel and leaving the boardroom. He found his own way to the elevator. Daniel’s in over his head, Wilson thought again, and his firm can no longer be trusted to protect my loved ones.
What little Wilson knew about surveillance and counter-surveillance he’d learned from Hap Greene, a former head of covert operations for the CIA. Hap ran Greene Mursin International (GMI), a highly discreet private investigation firm that Kresge amp; Company employed to ferret out hidden background information on clients, acquisition candidates, and prospective hires. Wilson met Hap several years earlier during a high profile Kresge project. They had quickly developed a close relationship, mostly because they shared each other’s irreverent attitudes toward society and the world in general. Hap was part of a growing trend among government and military trained spies, who were leaving the ranks of government service for the more lucrative and private world of corporate espionage. Corporate spying had become a hot growth business in recent years and no one was better at it than Hap Greene.
Before leaving Daniel’s offices, Wilson stepped into one of the small conference rooms encircling the foyer
